A quote…

“There are countries in which the communal provisions of housing, transport, education, and health care is so inferior that inhabitants will naturally seek to escape involvement with the masses by barricading themselves behind solid walls.  The desire for high status is never stronger than in situations where “ordinary” life fails to answer a median need for dignity and comfort.” Alain de Botton, Status Anxiety, 2004.

 

Naturally sorted stones

Em and I hanging out at Tennessee Valley Beach
Em and I hanging out at Tennessee Valley Beach

After two years of living in San Francisco, we’ve realized pretty quickly that the best way to enjoy the City and maintain a degree of sanity is to spend some time away from it.  Escaping the rapid human-created pace of the city is essential.

This past Sunday we ventured to the Tennessee Valley trailhead to do a little hiking for the first time.  It’s just a short 20 minute drive outside the City and across the Golden Gate Bridge.  We left around 10am and on the drive north we passed the electronic signs informing drivers that the Muir Woods parking lot was already full.  This recreation area is a nice alternative Muir Woods if your plan is to get outside for the weekend.

By 10:30 a.m., the parking lot at the trailhead was already getting full.  We found a parking spot and set off for the beach.  It was a pleasant 2.5 mile hike to through the valley on a half paved, half gravel pathway.  The area is marked well and is a pretty tame outdoor experience.  We grabbed a little plot of beach and laid out for awhile.   The beach was pretty amazing, and the geology of the beach smoothly transitioned from gravel to sand as you approached the water.  We spent a good amount of time sifting through the colorful pea-sized gravel as is diminished into sand. Around noon the crowds picked up and we decided to head home.

It was a great spot with plenty of other trails to explore on our next visit.  We will be back for sure.

Labor Day at Girard Ridge Lookout

Last Labor Day, Emily and I rented an old US Forest Service lookout tower near Mt. Shasta.   It was the perfect weekend getaway with amazing views, the right amount of roughing it, vibrant night skies, and no bears.

I found out about the USFS lookout rentals from a colleague at work who spent an extended weekend at one.  I remember visiting a forest service tower when visiting my Aunt as a kid, so the thought of camping out in one was really exciting.  Lookout availability and reservations are arranged through Recreation.gov.

Girard Ridge Lookout
Girard Ridge Lookout

Randomly, we picked the Girard Ridge Lookout, not quite realizing that Mt. Shasta was a 6 hour drive away.  I think I was operating on the notion that name familiarity was related to distance. By that logic, Mt. Shasta was a half hour away.    One piece of advice is book early, we booked in May for an August reservation.

Surviving the narrow logging roads, we approach our home.
Surviving the narrow logging roads, we approach our home.

The drive up to Mt. Shasta was extremely pleasant, even for a holiday weekend.  We left San Francisco, in our City Car Share Subaru Impreza, around 6:30am and beat a majority of the traffic.

Shameless plug for City Car Share, our car share of choice!
Shameless plug for City Car Share, our car share of choice!

The directions provided from the highway were fairly limited:

Exit the Interstate at the Soda Creek exit 726. From here, the lookout is approximately 7.5 miles over mostly dirt road. Head east towards the Sacramento River. Cross the bridge over the river and veer right until you come to a road intersection. Turn right on Riverside and follow a curvy and narrow paved road to the intersection of the Girard Ridge Road (Forest Service Road Number 38N23). Turn left, heading up hill. The road will change from pavement to dirt at the 1.9 mile mark from I-5. You will pass some microwave towers. At the top of the hill at approx 6.5 miles from the interstate look for a road intersection, this is Forest Service Road Number 39N13. It will be your first left. Turn here and travel approximately .6 mile to an unnumbered road again on your left. A sign says Girard Ridge Lookout with an arrow. Turn here and you will come to a green Forest Service gate. Open the gate and travel on this road until you reach the lookout (about 1/2 mile).

The roads up to the lookout are rough logging roads, we found that renting the Subaru Impreza was helpful, but not completely necessary, you could get by with a reliable car.  I wouldn’t attempt it in an overloaded, underpowered van of an ‘early 90’s vintage.  Another piece of advice, if you reach a fork in the road, take the one that looks most travelled.  We made a wrong turn on a very overgrown, narrow, and steep, logging side access path, a little scary.  Another bit of advice, since it is difficult to estimate time and distance on the mountain roads, pay attention to your odometer to help you identify forks mentioned in the directions.

Sunsets, silense, and wine at the Lookout
Sunsets, silence, and wine at the Lookout

There are  ranger stations in either direction of the highway exit to the lookout.  Each station has water access and useful information regarding local hiking trails.  The camping experience at the lookout could be classified as car camping light, we brought coolers and a 5 gallon container of water which we refilled every time we went down the ridge.  We stored food in the car in coolers, the lookout gets really hot during the day, but there is shaded space under the lookout which would be a good place to keep your perishables cool.

Cooking chili at the Lookout
Cooking chili at the Lookout

I was concerned about bears so the point that I was nervous about eating in the lookout, the rangers we spoke with didn’t seem to concerned about this.  I would say use common sense, don’t store food inside the lookout, and keep a clean site.  There are no garbage containers at the site, so pack it in, pack it out.  We didn’t spot any significant wildlife outside of some really fat quails on the trail to the lookout.

Playing around with some night sky photography at the Girard Ridge Lookout
Playing around with some night sky photography at the Girard Ridge Lookout

We spend three nights and four days at the lookout which was just the perfect amount of time.  There isn’t too much to do at the lookout site itself, but there is plenty of hiking, fishing, swimming, etc within a few minutes drive.   The best part of the lookout location was taking in the night sky.  Watching the setting sun and changing colors  of Mt. Shasta and Castle Crags was the perfect way to spend an evening.  We were lucky to enjoy clear nights that popped the stars, planets and the haze of Milky Way.

A final picture from our weekend at the Girard Ridge Lookout with Castle Crags in the background.
A final picture from our weekend at the Girard Ridge Lookout with Castle Crags in the background.

We highly recommend booking at weekend in a US Forest Service lookout.  It’s the perfect prescription to recharge from this hectic modern world and regain perspective.   It’s great for people who haven’t camped a lot but want to get the isolation that you experience from backpacking.

Chicago Taxi 311 Bumper Sticker

When I worked at the Chicago Department of Transportation, I was able to contribute to the development of the Chicago Pedestrian Safety campaign which was funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Chicago Taxi Bumper Sticker
Chicago Taxi Bumper Sticker

There were a number of elements to the campaign, but one component that I was able to work on was the Chicago Taxi 311 Bumper Sticker.  This was a collaboration between the Chicago Department of Transportation and the Department of Consumer Services, which involved a “how is my driving” styled bumper sticker to be placed on all taxis in the city.  My contribution was small in the fact that I helped to design the sticker but every time I visit Chicago there is a constant reminder on all taxis of my time with the Department.