It's three quarters of a mile round Lake Helen, not really worth doing unless you're waiting for someone to finish paddling...
Hike starts at: 40.467433, -121.508604. View in Google Earth.
A four mile out and back hike taking in three waterfalls along the McCloud River near Mt Shasta.
Hike starts at: 41.240749, -122.024747. View in Google Earth.
Updated 2021-07-22 12:45:
Did the same hike again this year - it's worth repeating. Here are some long exposure shots of the three waterfalls.
Third time lucky - Bumpass Hell was open for my third trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park. It's a three mile out and back with great views and of course a whole bunch of geothermal features at the end. The trail winds gently up to Bumpass Hell where there is a steep and surprisingly slippery descent (and an alternate route back up for a very small loop at the end of the trail). Very glad to have finally hiked it.
(Previously: Lassen Star Trails)
Hike starts at: 40.465403, -121.514653. View in Google Earth.
Starting to leave San Francisco. Photo is of Bird Island in the Marin Headlands. 39.1 unique miles.
Hike starts at: 37.741862, -122.471579. View in Google Earth.
37.2 unique miles in May. Photo is the fog shadow behind Grand View Park.
Hike starts at: 37.741726, -122.471298. View in Google Earth.
36.4 unique miles in April (I'm not using the GPS for repeat hikes). Bagged Twin Peaks, wider paths than Mount Davidson.
Not getting far from home any time soon so all hikes for now will be local. I found a great web app, Routeshuffle, that will generate a random hike from the starting location of your choice. It's a great way of seeing streets you'd never venture down normally. The map is generated with some software I wrote to combine multiple KML files for easy rendering in Google Earth (oh, and Google Earth, I guess that does the heavy lifting). I'll post these every month while we're locked down. March is 15.6 miles total.
Hike starts at: 37.800778, -122.455943. View in Google Earth.
A short two mile out and back from the Battery Spencer parking area on Conzelman Road to Kirby Cove.
The Marin Headlands have had a bit of a traffic management change recently so you need to go through the tunnel to get in and Conzelman Road is now one way back to highway 101. The advantage is that there is way more parking then there used to be. I think I've only ever managed to park near Battery Spencer once in 20 years.
The walk is my least favorite profile, downhill to start and uphill on the way back and also not a loop. It's worth it though because it's short and Kirby Cove beach is quiet and has wonderful views of San Francisco through the Golden Gate Bridge. You can also visit Battery Wagner and Battery Kirby on the way back up.
Hike starts at: 37.829459, -122.48401. View in Google Earth.
The Immigration Station at Angel Island is a fascinating piece of history. It's amazing how unwelcoming we were to Chinese immigrants while the station was in operation, and how ineffective all of the unpleasantness was. It's a racist mirror universe of Ellis Island. Get a guided tour if you can. I've visited the Immigration Station a couple of times and also hiked around the perimeter (which is spectacular), but this trip was the first time going up to the top. The Angel Island Company site suggests that this is a 6.5 mile hike but my GPS thinks it was 5 miles and so did the fact that we made it back in time for our planned ferry back to San Francisco.
Get off the boat, head right and up the hill to pick up the sign for Sunset Trail. This takes you up to a spur about half a mile from the top that is well signed for Mt. Livermore. There are a few picnic tables and an annoying mast that makes it hard to take the panorama that this peak is so obviously calling for. On the way back down head right at the first opportunity to follow North Ridge trail back to Ayala Cove.
Hike starts at: 37.868337, -122.434656. View in Google Earth.
A nice 4 mile hike at China Camp State Park - starting at the day use parking in the campsite follow Powerline Fire Trail up to a left on Bay View Trail then left on Back Ranch Fire Trail and finally left again on Shoreline Trial back to the parking lot. Gentle ascent for three miles then a fairly steep stretch down Back Ranch Fire Trail (I slipped three times, watch where you're going) and then gentle again for the final half mile.
(Previously: shorter 3 mile hike of Back Ranch Meadows and Turtleback Point loop)
Hike starts at: 38.006014, -122.496775. View in Google Earth.