Tromp Blog

No Left Turn Unstoned in La Honda

Ken Kesey's infamous house today.

The rolling grasslands of La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve are like a sublime hallucination this time of year; their contours, a sensuous geometry. A breeze sweeps through the clearing and the lush green shivers with life. The velvety slopes make me want to strip off my clothes and perform wild, flailing somersaults down the hill.

At Home on Sierra Azul’s Priest Rock Trail

The Priest Rock Trail to the 3,000-foot summit of Mt. El Sombroso in the Sierra Azul Open Space Reserve leads to great views of Los Gatos and the South Bay Area.

Hiking Through Quicksilver and ‘The Legend of New Almaden’

The remains of the April Tunnel Trestle.

This story begins with a mysterious mural—153 square feet of bizarre suffering and eerie salvation. From the upper left corner, a demon with legs like coiled springs descends upon men in loincloths.

Hike The Great Park: Pescadero Creek

Redwoods in the mist on the Brook Trail. Hilltromper photo.

The holidays are past, the new year's begun, and it's time to plan some butt-kicking hikes in the Great Park! May we recommend Brook Trail Loop, an 8.2-mile sojourn in almost-hidden Pescadero Creek County Park.

The Tallest Redwoods in The Great Park

Ten of the 14 biggest trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains are found in Big Basin. Photo: Allie Caulfield

The loftiest trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains are more than 300 feet tall—and you'll find them all inside the Great Park.

The Horrors of the Summit Tunnel

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The history of Wrights Tunnel in the Santa Cruz Mountains—once the second longest railroad tunnel in California—is a tale of death, greed and bigotry.

Harbin Hot Springs and the Ten Thousand Fragments of Brahma

Goat Trails

Story and photos by Ryan Masters

Nov. 19, 2014—When surrounded by penises you realize that each one is unique. Not unique like the divine delicacy of a snowflake—grotesquely unique like the melting nose of a waxen clown. But still unique.

Hike The Great Park: Ocean View Summit

The view from Ocean View Summit is very similar to this one from McCrary Ridge: forested ridges leading to the sparkling Pacific. Photo by Miguel Vieira on Wikimedia Commons.

This Big Basin hike offers a stunning summit-to-sea perspective on the Great Park, a 200-square-mile swath of Santa Cruz Mountain redwood forest.

The Return of the Beaver

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A video released last week shows what may be the first beaver to set up shop on Los Gatos Creek in 150 years.

Video of a beaver living on Los Gatos Creek could be evidence of an ecological comeback.

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