The Trail Companion

The newsletter is going quarterly. We have gone out of the retail map business and we are no longer regularly staffing our office. Our funds will now go to directly fund trail building and mapping activities. These were not easy decision, but we believe we will be able to better serve our members. Find out how.

The equestrian community in San Mateo County has long been a rich source of support for trails and parks, with equestrians involved in organized volunteer activities since the 1930s. If all the documented and estimated volunteer hours donated to San Mateo County for the past thirteen years are added up (nearly 35,800 hours - also a conservative estimate!), the equestrian community has provided the equivalent of 1.3 full time staff each year in service of the park and trails of San Mateo County.

Many of us escape to the outdoors whenever possible, especially in the summer, when the weather invites hikes, rides, and backpacking trips to the mountains, along with visiting the beaches, swimming, etc. These days, however, very few of us are likely to spend long outside without some sort of sun protection. News about the thinning ozone layer and general warnings about skin damage from the sun's rays abound. The "healthy" tan no longer has appeal it once did; even Doonesbury's Zonker long ago left the world of tanning competitions. With that in mind, I don't wish to simply admonish against going out in the sun, but explore the options and the science of sun protection. By Geoffrey Skinner.

Along with Windy Hill, Coal Creek Open Space Preserve is one of the most easily-accessed open preserves from Palo Alto, where I lived when I first moved to the Bay area. When I felt adventurous, I would pedal up to the end of the paved part of Alpine Road, stop to eat a small snack, then proceed up the roughly 2 miles of dirt road to Page Mill. From there I could turn left to head down Page Mill Road and return home, cross into Monte Bello Open Space Preserve to descend towards Stevens Creek, or turn right and meet up with Skyline Boulevard, where the options for cyclists (road and mountain) are very open. By Scott Heeschen

What's changing in the newsletter and what's in store for upcoming issues.

California State Park acquisitions...Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District acquisitions and trails at El Corte de Madera Open Space Preserve...Calero Reserovoir and County Park additions...Bicycles allowed at Alamden-Quicksilver County Park...Another portion of the Stevens Creek Trail approved in Sunnyvale.

Celebrating California Trail Days at Arastradero Preserve with the Arastradero Preserve Stewardship Project...National Trails Day with Any Mountain, Ltd....Upcoming projects.

News of Trail Center members' and volunteers' activities both inside and outside of the Trail Center.

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