Another one of SF's hidden gems, the San Bruno Mountain Hike starts right in the middle of the Silicon Valley and transports you to the ideal urban wilderness with breathtaking views of the entire bay area and the Pacific Ocean. I was hiking solo on this day, so I chose this particular hike for a short 4-5 mile trail that goes around the mountain. There is a way to continue this hike for some stunning views along a ridgeline to make it an even 8 miles. I'll have to try this another day. To start this hike, park at the San Bruno Mountain State Park, which is home to lovely picnic grounds and several short and long hikes. The entrance fees is $5 so bring cash! You can grab the envelopes at the park entrance ranger station, fill them out and add the $5 to this and deposit them at the entrance. Then you're all set for the hike! Here's what I recommend bringing for this quick hike:
You can find the hike on AllTrails.com however, I did a longer version of it. You can find the full map here: The San Bruno Mountain is often covered with Karl the fog and the classic SF weather, so please either avoid the hike or dress appropriately! Here are some pics from the hike: Hope you choose to do this hike and enjoy it as much as I did! =)
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As the winter ski season comes to an end, its nearly time for trail running and wine tasting! Bonus points if you can combine the two :). So last weekend, instead of going skiing, we decided to go to Sonoma to pick up our wines (which we receive through our memberships at vineyards) and go for a trail run.
Barthelomew Park Winery is located at the foot hill of the mission highland hills. As always, the bay area surprises me with complete wilderness only minutes from the highway. So we decided to take a hike/ trail run through the hills on a trail called the Bartholomew Park trail. The trail is roughly 3 miles long and winds through creeks and trees. It’s a great getaway from the local wine traffic with only a few by passers along the way. If that wasn’t perfect enough, the trail allows dogs!!!! Snow was in full pest mode and had a blast running and bouncing around the trails :) Following this little excursion, we came back to the car and packed up to go drink some free and Ah-mazing wines. We love Barholomew! In fact, we have cancelled all Napa/ Sonoma memberships except this one. We love the staff and open park style feel and the lack of overdressed tourists! The vineyard has plenty of picnic benches and also space to set up your own blanket and hang out on the grass. If you’re looking for a bit more rusting experience, the Buena Vista Winery is right next door to Bartholomew. A super trooper can know out this awesome trail runs and both the vineyards in one go! As a part of the 7 summits regimen, and after summiting Kilimanjaro, Elbrus and Kosciuszko, the next on my list was Aconcagua. Aconcagua is the highest mountain in South America located near the border of Argentina and Chile. Nearly 23,000 feet high, Aconcagua is the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas and is known for its insane weather. Aconcagua tours start out of Mendoza, Argentina. We used Inka expeditions as our tour operator and they were pretty impressive. To get to Mendoza, you can take flights into town or a bus from Santiago. We realized that the flights are much cheaper into Santiago, Chile and then the bus from Santiago to Mendoza is an experience worth having. Its an ~8 hour bus ride through the Andean mountains with stunning views along the way. You can buy tickets online here. I recommend sitting close to the front of the top floor of the bus for the best view along the way. In Mendoza, Inka put us up in an awesome 5 start hotel called Hotel Diplomatic. This was a great way to start our gruelling trip. The first evening, Inka guides stopped by our rooms and evaluated all the gear. For the missing items, we went down to an outdoor rental place to pick up extra gear. I highly recommend to NOT rent/ buy from this place as it was overpriced and had crappy brands. There are several outdoor retailers in Mendoza with far better stuff. We went to El Refugio to pick up our extras (instead of Chamonix Sports as recommended by Inka). The next day, we exchanged money, paid Inka and Argentinan government for our trip. This took 2ish hours and then we were ready to get going. We loaded the bags in vans and headed down to Penitentes, an old ski town located just outside the Aconcagua nature preserve. Here, Inka has a storage facility where we were able to drop all our bags and casual clothes that wont be needed on the mountain. We even left our laptops and they were safely stored with the Inka guys. That same night, we packed our bags for the mules to drop our bags at Confluencia camp and Plaza Mulas (base camp). Since we stayed at Plaza Confluenzia for two nights, we didn't receive our Plaza Mulas bags for two more days. I will post a separate link to the full itinerary with elevation and other details. The following morning we packed our day packs and started the not so long walk to Confluenzia. The 12 strangers on this trip were quickly becoming friends along the short and easier hike. Within 4 miles, we were at our first camp site, Camp Confluenzia (3400 meters/ 11200 feet). As soon as we arrived, we were served with cheese, pepperoni, fruits, snacks, etc. I realized quickly that food will not be an issue on this trip. The accomodation at Confluenzia was a large tent with bunk beds. The tent had room for 8 peopel so we needed another one for our team. The tent was full of dudes and they all snored ALL night. It was clear that in order to get any sleep at all, we would need some solid ear plugs. Some other facilities include flushable toilets, running water showers (cold), full kitchen with staff and a common group tent. We also celebrated Christmas at this camp site and had a champagne filled christmas eve. Thanks Inka! Next day, we packed our day packs again and headed out to Plaza Franzia (4200 meters/ 13780 feet) for a day hike. The hike was round trip 9 miles from Confluenzia and is (apparently) required for acclimitization before heading to base camp. Plaza Franzia is located at the base of the South Face of Aconcagua. The view is stunning and completely worth this side hike. The south face of the mountain receives and keeps a signficant amount of snow, giving it a really remarkable look. There are several glaciers on this side as well. During the last 30-40 mins of the hike, we were hiking next to the Horcones Glacier, which has the appearance of being burried under soil. It is SO cool! Following day, the real expedition started. We set out early in the morning ~7 am towards Plaza Mulas (4370 meters/ 14337 feet), which is the main base camp for the mountain. The hike from Confluenzia to Plaza Mulas is easily 11.5 miles and most of it is in a flat valley. The valley also creates sort of a wind tunnel making it horrid to traverse during the windy days. We got unlucky and were doing this hike during one such day. To make matters worse, three miles into the hike, we were faced with a whiteout snow blizzard, that we had to hike through for the remaining 8 miles. This was easily one of the hardest things I have done in my life, completely pushing the edge of my resilience. All of our warm weather gear was in Plaza Mulas and we had to brave this storm in some goretex jackets and hiking pants. I borderline got a frostbite before the real trip started. One of our guides had extra gloves and gave me his mittens. For that, I literally owe him my fingers. Thankfully, our lead guide decided to quicken the pace a bit and we managed to reach the base camp 2 hours before planned. What surpised me was the tiny voice in my head that kept reminding me that we will eventually get there and its all going to be alright. This was one of the key lessons I learned time and again during the expedition. More than ever I realized the truth in the statement "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" Thankfully, we got to rest all day next day. This was highly needed and enabled us to replenish our energy. The day was mostly gloomy and windy, so it was a nice day to take a break. This also gave us some time to acclimitize and get ready before the hike to camp 1. Following morning, we woke up and had to carry a load to camp 1. Camp 1 is around 16,000 feet (4910 meters) and the first of the higher camps. We Moved around 15-20 kg per person to Camp 1, which made this day quite challenging. It took us ~3.5 hours to arrive at Camp 1, where we ate a picnic style lunch. We piled all our gear and covered it with a pile of rocks for the next time we stayed at Camp 1. During this hike, the team was divided into two groups of faster and slower hikers. The group of slower hikers had to leave our expedition for varying reasons over the following days. The way back to camp 1 was quick and good fun. We enjoyed a nice dinner with the rest of the crew. The days following our load carry turned out to be quite windy and our guides were unable to lock down a summit day. Traditionally, two days after load carry, the team starts moving to higher camps. However, we ended up spending three days extra at base camp to wait out the bad weather on the higher camps. This ended up being good fun as some of us went bouldering around the base camp. If you're a rock climber, bring your climbing shoes! There are some excellent bouldering problems out there. Also during this time, we all visited the doctor to assess our degree of acclimitization. I was quite well acclimitized with low blood pressure and high VO2. However, I had developed a horrid cough (bronchitis) and cold by this time. The doctors gave me some antibiotics and mucus suppressants to help with this. I decided to stay at base camp for another day to recover and was happy to be mostly over my cold and bronchitis symptoms. The extra day we spent at base camp was new years eve and there was quite a party and a celebration to welcome in the new year! Since I skipped one night at camp 1 (due to bronchitis), I had to catch up with the rest of the group directly at camp 2 (5400/ 18000). This meant a solid 5000 feet/ 1500 m elevation gain with heavy packs. We stopped at camp 1 to pick up part of the load that we carried couple days prior. This made the final approach to camp 2 really friggin hard. We did end up making pretty good time and got to camp 2 in 6.5 hours. The views from camp 2 are STUNNING and easily some of the best on the mountain. The sunset from camp 2 will take your breath away. We unpacked our stuff and got comfortable in the tents. Thankfuly, Inka had a cooking tent that we were able to use for breakfasts and dinner the first few days/ nights on camp 2. The weather was fantastic on our hike to camp 2 but quickly disintegrated over the next few days. The winds were SO high that night that some people lost their tents. We decided to make our tent quite taut by adding extra rocks. Even then, the tent was flexing so much at night that it was slapping us in the face. This whole experience was exhausting but hilarious and awesome at the same time. The next few days were really really windy and had horrible weather on the mountain. While it was sunny (thankfully), the winds were strong enough to lift you and knock over when outside. We therefore hung out in our tents and waited for the weather to pass for a chance to summit. The final day of our trip and the absolute last possible day, the weather finally cleared. By this point, we were exhausted of spending 4 solid full days on camp 2 nearly at 18,000 feet. What upset me was that our guides did not take any opportunity over four days to acclimitize us to camp 3, leaving it all for the last day. We also had an opportunity to move our camp to camp 3 and this would have given the entire team a solid chance for a summit. Finally on January 5th, 15 days after our expedition started, we woke at 1:30 AM to attempt summiting Aconcagua. We pakced up, ate some horribly cold and gross porridge and set out on the mountain at 3 am. To our surprise, our guide lost his way initially, causing us to cut across steep ice sheets on the mountain without much visibility. This sucked. I pulled a muscle in my calf was in in immense pain for the rest of the hike. To make matters worse, my backpack was poorly adjusted and gave me a horrible horrible back ache. Our guide also set out at a massive pace up the mountain that completely wore us out by the time we got to over 20,000 feet. This was the moment for decision. While I was tired, I didn't feel TOO bad. Several of the team members could barely sit up. It was a hard day and hard decision causing us to turn around and head back down. While this was disappointing, it was also necessary for the health and well being of most us. I am also very happy to have crossed my high altitude record of Mr. Kilimanjaro and we had gotten higher than every other mountain in South America.
I decided promptly that I will return to this mountain and will attempt to summit in the near future. However, I will certainly go back with a private expedition, rather than a team of 12strangers. If we were slightly more in control of our expedition, we would have moved to camp 3 and attempted from there. We also could have attempted for the summit earlier in the trip rather than waiting for the very last day possible. Overall, this trip was an excellent experience and the people we met along the way were terrific. Inka expeditions is a great expedition operator and we thoroughly enjoyed the food and the support from them. We will certainly go with Inka again in the future. Thanks for reading! contact me if you have any questions about this trip :) What I love about the Bay Area is the crazy diverse geography. A steep mountain hike next to a beach is rewarding for multiple reasons: Good workout and better views! The only thing that can make it better ist that your pooch can come along!! Monterra state park is south of Pacifica and north of Half Moon Bay. Its a lovely little park, tucked away near the California coast. The bottom part the of trail and the park are shaded and cool. With some elevation, the terrain becomes more "desert" like and shrubby. Our hike was sunny and warm but that just made the dip in the sea all the more rewarding! Here's the trailhead start point: Some highlights:
Yosemite is the king of panoramas. Once you’re in the valley region, every direction offers outstanding views of massive cliffs and astounding waterfalls… and of course, tourists. If you want to get away from the valley traffic jams and the hustle bustle of the people, go on a hike! Even better, go on a longer hike. Panorama trail, staying true to its name, offers just that! With nearly 9 miles of descent from the glacier point to the valley floor, you’re sure to find sweeping views of large granite cliffs, half dome, waterfalls and national park land as far as your eyes can see.
Start the trail by booking a bus tour to the top of the glacier point. You can also choose to shuttle yourself if you have two cars in your group. The bus drivers offer a wealth of knowledge on the bus and it’s actually quite insightful and entertaining! We even saw a video about bears in the US! After your car/ bus gets to glacier point, spend some time actually walking to the Glacier point before starting the Panorama trail. Fun fact: When President Obama visited Yosemite, he went up to Glacier point with this family and took the four mile trail down. So if you do this hike, you’ll literally be walking in the footsteps of a US president. The Panorama trail begins just by the gift shop at Glacier point. It first descends for 3 miles at a steady pace. After this, the trail starts rising in elevation for nearly 700 feet for another mile. This was hard for us as the day was really warm and the sun was quite bright. We marched on and took a nice break near Nevada falls. After this, we quickly descended towards vernal falls and then to the valley floor. The Vernal falls descent, while scenic, is quite steep. A great alternative to the Vernal falls trail is the john Muir trail which is three quarters of a mile longer but far less steeper, and therefore, much nicer on your knees. While Justin and I went down the Vernal falls route, Justin’s parents offered to take the less steep John Muir option. The views along the trail were stunning as we were able to see the Half Dome from several angles. There weren’t too many hikers along the way and for the most part we were by ourselves on the trail. While long, the trail wasn’t as physically demanding as a regular 9 mile hike due to a mostly descending route. I highly recommend this to people with moderate to high fitness levels who want to spend a nice day outside in Yosemite. Bring on the Calf aches! Length – 9.5 miles Duration – 4-7 hours Level – Moderate Equipment:
SUP is the new "ski bumming"-esque hobby with the catch that you must have flat abs. Considering my excitement level to adopt all adventure sports as a hobby, Justin had strategically kept me away from SUP for nearly 2 years after it hit big. But now, it was time. Even Justin couldn't say no as we basically got to rent the paddle boards for 3 days for the price of 1 day AND got to use them on a bright sunny day in the magnificent Tetons.
If you're vacationing in Jackson area and are up for an independed adventure, sans large groups, this is a great and safe activity. Also, there are no mythical strange creatures that live in the depths of Jenny Lake, so if you topple over, you can easily swim back to your board. We rented the paddle boards from Rendezvous River Sports and made sure they were inflatable paddle boards. While they are a pain to inflate (or a solid workout - depending on your perspective), they are highly compact and can be driven around in your grandma's sedan. Believe it or not, there was NO one else on this stunning weekend day on Jenny Lake. Pro Tip: September is a great time to visit the area when the rates are cheaper and the crowds are lighter but the weather is still as good! Below are pics of the Justin and I enjoying a gorgeous afternoon on Jenny Lake! When dreams come true, you either don’t realize that it’s already happened, or your simply overwhelmed and speechless. Usually, I don’t really realize that it’s happened. But the Delta Lake hike is the anomaly that left me in awe and with an incredible feeling. I first set sight on the Tetons in 2010 driving through the Wyoming area. It was love at first sight and ever since, my love with the Tetons has only grown. I have hiked in the Teton national park several times, however, I only recently found out about the Delta Lake hike. Ever since it’s been my dream to come through the park and hike to the delta lake. This September we finally were able to cross this off my bucket list. The day was overcast in the morning but it quickly became a bit sunnier. The clouds that remained added to the beauty of the day. The trail to Delta Lake follows the path to the Amphitheater Lake. After a few miles, the trail splits between Gannet canyon and Amphitheater Lake so take the Amphitheater lake path. Following this, look for an unmaintained trail splitting at the end of a switchback. After this, some route finding skills are required. Even though the path isn’t marked, the trail is visible and not impossible to find. At this point, the trail is only for the sure footted, fitter hikers. After ducking under some fallen trees and passing two bouldering fields, the trail proceeds towards the lake through a steep section. After walking for roughly 20-30 minutes, you will arrive at the stunning view of the lake.
The lake itself is small but at the head of the lake sits the Grand Teton Mountain itself. I can’t quite put the beauty of it in words, so here’s some pictures. Even though the day was turning chilly, we decided to spend over an hour at the lake. Every second there was incredible and totally worth it. I still feel the happiness and warmth thinking about that day at the lake and can’t wait to head back next summer in the tetons. Maybe we’ll even try skiing there! I have been trail running a lot recently and feeling great on the longer distance runs and the uphill climbs. Given my very busy work and weekend schedule, my goal is to run a half marathon at least once, preferably twice a month to keep in running shape. Interestingly, I would never have thought I could do this a couple years ago. Now, I can get up and run a half marathon any time of the day. Except when I have a whole in my shoe, no traction left and it's raining on a steep trail :) Unfortunately, confidence can sometimes lead to overconfidence, which is a bad idea on long steep trail runs. Table Rock race, organized by La Sportiva was set in the Mt. Tam region in Marin (north of the Bay Area). The first 3 miles of the Table Rock run wound up ~2000 feet and subsequently descended 2000 feet in 3 miles to near the start line. At this point, the half marathon continued up 1500 elevation game for 3 miles and the final 3-4 miles was the descend down to the finish line. On the first part of the race up 2000 feet, my pace was strong and I was passing several people along the way. On the way down, I passed several runners as well, until two ladies refused to give way to people, undeterred by their own slow pace. I tried to run fast on the downhill and ended up twisting and subsequently spraining my ankle around mile 5. Luckily, the start (and finish) were near the end of mile 6, \xde5so I was able to exit the race to rest my ankle. Here's our course map. We started with the Pink course and then went out to the orange course Take a look here at our brutal elevation map: Even though I wasn't able to finish my race, I had a great time and an awesome exercise! The best part? Justin finished 5th in his age group at the 10K! That's the pink look above :).
Here's Justin looking awesome with his I HATE to be writing this post because I love how hidden and quiet this wildlife preserve is! My friend described this area as a "Gem in the Rubble". The Preserve is located on the East Bay side of the Dumbarton bridge and has miles and miles of running, hiking, biking trails. There are usually very few people around here and they're always the friendly sort. Being on the bay, there is usually a cool breeze, but not quite as bad as the one in San Francisco. This area is marshlands, so the smell of salt and sea is very heavy - but I find it refreshing. Throughout the running trails, the views of the bay and the dumbarton bridge are stunning. Several wild rabbits run around the trails, so keep an eye for them. The area is mostly dog friendly and I have brought my pup, Snow, for many runs around here. Here's my usual afternoon run route: Here are some pics of the gorgeous views along the way! Hope you enjoy this hidden gorgeous part of the SF Bay Area!
Because Sardine Lake is GORGEOUS, we decided to spend our next day to go toward the upper sardine lake. This is a short 1ish mile hike from the lower sardine lake area. The path can be done in a 4X4 and it looked cool when some of the trucks were getting after it. Except, when one brand new chevy truck without any special wheels decided to go for it... they ended up with a massive scar down on one side of the truck. We did the trail on our mountain bikes. It wasn't the best trail to mountain bike, but it was fun anyhow. The upper lake is stunning with clear water and far fewer people than the lower lake. The water in the lake is not too warm, but offers an invigorating experience on a warm sunny day. To get to the cliff for jumping ~7 feet into the water, hang left at the trailhead and stay close to the water. There is an unofficial trail that goes to the cliff. I would advise against jumping off the higher cliff since the water level is low. The lower cliff is great and the water is plenty deep to jump in Here are some of our pics: Going towards the cliff to jump in the lake Justin leaping into the lake! Other hikers and Snow looking. Thats me jumping into upper sardine lake!!
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MahimaNuclear Engineer, Product and Strategy expert, Vegetarian, Adventurer. Categories
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