Royal Gorge: Van Norden Track System

Near: Donner Pass
Trip Type: XC-Ski (groomed)
Elevation: 6700 ft
Distance: 3-5 Kilometers
Surface: Snow
Vegetation: Forest and Meadow

If you want to skate ski with a your dog on a groomed track system, you should move to the midwest.  I mean really, there are a few options in California, but they're not great.  The least bad option we've skied so far is Royal Gorge.  They've opened a few trails in their Van Norden Track system to dogs.  The trails are short and flat so great for beginner skiers and locals out for a half hour of exercise with their dogs, but debatably worth the drive from the Bay Area.  The limited trails are compounded by the fact that the three times we've been there the website has claimed that trails were open that clearly hadn't been groomed in the last few storms.  Grooming in general at Royal Gorge is substandard and I've never seen even half of their trails open when I've been there. So if you plan to split a group up off and on to give the dog-less party a chance to experience some terrain, be warned that you'll have far fewer options than the Royal Gorge website will claim.  That being said, the terrain around Royal Gorge is beautiful, the snow is plentiful and at least the management is making *some* effort to court the dog owner market so they deserve credit for that.

Old County Road to Mt Watson

Lake Tahoe
Trip Type: XC-skiing
Elevation: 6600 - 7600 ft
Distance: 6 miles
Surface: Snow
Vegetation: Forest

View from the top of Mt Watson

We're slowly getting to know the best places for easy-to-follow, ungroomed skiing in the Tahoe Area.  Back east, the hiking trails tend to be, you know, marked... so once there's some snow, you can strap on some fishscales and hit a hiking trail with light climbing.  In the Sierras, that lack of any trail marking makes it very difficult to follow most hiking routes in winter unless you're following a well worn trail frequented by locals.  We tried to hit just such an high traffic trailhead over President's Day weekend this year.  We headed up to Tahoe City and set out to ski the Tahoe Rim Trail as it heads southwest out of town.  The trail was indeed easy to follow, but all the foot traffic and freeze-thaw cycles left it icy enough that it was pretty unpleasant to ski.  Lucky for us, we met a local at the trailhead who had better suggestion for us: Old County Road near Tahoe Vista

Mt Tallac

Lake Tahoe
Trip Type: Day Hike
Elevation: 6500 - 9700 ft
Distance: 8.5 Miles
Vegetation: Forest, Shrub and Meadow
Last Visit: November 2014

If you're going to hike just one peak in the Lake Tahoe area, I suggest you make it Mt. Tallac.  The peak is high enough and the approach long enough to feel like an achievement, without feeling like a deathmarch.  The lower reaches of the trail are nothing special, but but pleasant.  You pass some small alpine lakes on the climb and as you gain the main ridge, the views get better and better. By the time you hit the summit, the 360 view over Lake Tahoe and the Desolation Wilderness is spectacular. 

Morgan Territory

Near Mt. Diablo
Trip Type: Trail Run
Elevation: 1200 - 2300
Distance: 8 Miles
Surface: Dirt
Vegetation: Pasture 

This weekend Lori was competing in an orienteering meet in at Morgan Territory.  No dogs were allowed on the race course, so Presto and I took the opportunity to check out the trails around the park.  Spring is definitely the time to explore the east bay hills.  Instead of being coated in brown, mostly-dead grass, bearing an assortment of thorns and spines resembling a medieval armory (think morning stars), the landscape is covered in fresh green grass and wildflowers along with the spotty groves of oak trees that provide some shade here and there.

Berkeley Upper Fire Trail: Flat Section

Berkeley
Trip Type: Day Hike / Trail Run
Elevation: 1200 - 1200 ft
Distance: 1.7 miles one way
Surface: Dirt
Vegetation: Open Woods

This is really part of the routes to Tilden post, but I'm posting it separately for emphasis.  For all the fire trails around the bay, it can actually be quite hard to find a pleasant, flat route on a soft surface.  This upper section of the Strawberry Canyon fire trail (seems to be called the Jordan Trail on some maps) is completely flat, very wide and even.  A quick look about this blog should make it clear that in general, I'm happy to climb a big ole hill (and so is Presto), but sometimes if you or a running/hiking partner are coming back from injury, you really want something pleasant and gentle that's more exciting than taking a few laps around a softball field.   Thankfully Presto is still young and sprightly, but this trail might also be nice for an older dog that's no longer up for climbing any mountains but could use an outing that's more substantial than a trip to the neighborhood park.

Berkeley to Tilden Regional Park: Four Favorite Routes

Berkeley
Trip Type: Day Hike / Trail Run
Elevation: 200 - 1700 ft
Distance: 2 - 15 miles
Surface: Pavement and Dirt
Vegetation: Suburban Streets to Shady Paths to Forested Canyons to Grassy Hills

Sunset over the Golden Gate from Grizzly Peak Road

This isn't so much a trip report as summary of my favorite routes up to Tilden Regional Park from Berkeley.  As far as I'm concerned the best part about living in Berkeley is the great running and walking options up the hill to Tilden.  Between the roads, public stairways, and fire trails there are dozens of good options with a variety of distances, surface types and climb rate to match whatever type of workout or walk you want to get in.  Well... as long as you're ready to do some substantial climbing one way or another.   These are running routes for me, but the scenery merits a hike for those seeking a more relaxing day.

Lucas Valley to Loma Alta

Marin
Trip Type: Day Hike / Trial Run
Elevation: 100 - 1400 ft
Distance: 7.5 miles
Surface: Dirt and Gravel
Vegetation: Sparse Woods and Grassland

Post of a Mountain Bike Ride taken in Summer 2015

We actually did this route on Mountain Bikes, but I'm posting it as a hike/trail run.  The route was great for humans on bikes, but sections of the fire roads were a bit rocky for presto and even with booties on his feet got a bit torn up.  So I can't recommend riding this route with a dog unless they've got paws of steel.  All around a very nice bit of Bay Area hills though.  Marin County has done a good job of combining several open space areas and public easements around Lucas Valley into a nice network of trails for hiking and biking.  We initially wanted to explore this route as the start to a big day all around the valley working our way up to Loma Alta, across the Valley at Big Rock and then up over Rock Ridge.  That would make for over 15 miles and more than 2,000 feet of climb for sure.  Next time we'll start at Big Rock and Explore the higher ground on (hopefully) mostly softer trails.