Las Trampas Regional Wilderness Hike!

Hello again fellow trailblazers! I just came back from another HOT but beautiful hike from the Las Trampas Regional Wilderness in San Ramon. This particular hike goes up very steep trails, but there is plenty of shade along the way. Make sure you do pack 2 bottles of water, as I quickly ran out of water and had to "tough it out". The view is amazing since you are facing Bollinger Canyon Road and get beautiful views of San Ramon and Mount Diablo. If you want beautiful trails in the heart of awesome mountains I highly recommend this hike. At the top of the hill was a great view of San Francisco and the greater bay area!!

OH! Also if you are an avid mountain biker or enjoy horseback riding through great trails, this is a spot you should check out. Visit their website online for more pictures and information: http://www.ebparks.org/parks/las_trampas

Happy Hiking, see you soon!

Halloween Photoshop Image!!

Happy Early Halloween fellow trailblazers! I caught an interesting hike the other day, on the surface of the moon! For some reason I felt like dressing up as a munchkin with my pumpkin head friend.

Stay tuned for more trail posts, enjoy the image! And remember, don't eat any candy on the trails...

Sunol Regional Wilderness Trails!

Despite hiking in a hot and sunny August day the Sunol regional wilderness trail was an absolutely amazing experience!

I recommend that you do not hike this in the intense summer heat, this park has great scenery but you are exposed to the sun. What's unique about this place is that they have an awesome ranger station with a museum that shows you what wildlife you can encounter. Beware once you enter there is a huge mountain lion!!! Don't worry its not alive, but stuffed. :(

I threw on my backpack, made sure I had a full bottle of water, ate some trail mix, and applied a lot of sunscreen. I crossed the wooden bridge and took a right on Indian Joe Creek Trail. The hike was long and mostly uphill. My destination? These huge slabs of rocks on the summit of the hill where apparently many many bats are living in... Did I encounter any wildlife? Absolutely! I didn't see any bats but I did encounter a couple of cows grazing on the hills watching me and wondering "Why are you climbing when its so hot out?".

Anyways, I finally made it to the top and what a view it was! It was worth the hike, and the rock slabs were beautiful but dangerous. I had to watch my step. I decided to continue on the trail which would take me back down to the ranger station. Overall it took about 2 hours to complete the entire trail.

Directions: 680 South to Calaveras exit. Turn left on Caleveras and proceed for 4 miles. At Geary Road take a left and you are there!

Responsibilities and Opportunities of Bloggers

So what are the responsibilities and opportunities of bloggers? Do they even have any?

I believe so, because blogging is perceived as a one to many communication, but it also has a very strong pull towards one to one communication. Blog posts carry a very genuine, rich, and creative vibe to it which carries a significant appeal compared to traditional news stories. It feels as if we are in a discussion with the blogger and have a great opportunity to reply back with our feedback. One to one.

The responsibilities weigh high in this situation because bloggers must be aware of this appeal to readers and not use their postings to spread disinformation or hatred. If bloggers want to continue to be seen as citizen journalists, they must post with all same ethics and moral guidelines that traditional journalists use in their professions.

Blogs do have a lot of potential to appeal to our different tastes, hobbies, likes, and dislikes. This is why the blogging possibilities are endless. Simply Recipes show us that bloggers can post about how to bake brownies and other cookies, and Miss W and her Smartboard shows us that blogs can be used to connect with other industry professionals.

I believe blog authors also do have a role to enhance this connectivity with other people discussing similar topics. Blogging should not be based on competition against other bloggers, it should be based on connecting readers with other bloggers and enhancing the collective wisdom within the WWW.

My 2 cents.

Welcome Trailblazers!

Thanks for stopping by on our journey through the wonderful east bay trails of California! I will be your guide through these wonderful paths. Just remember to pack some water and trail mix!

John.