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I suspect he's one of those guys that doesn't think he needs a hunting license since he owns 30 acres.
Joke's gonna be on him when someone on the neighboring lot hears him shooting his shotgun in say August, and then finds a wounded deer on his property.
Also he should have fun figuring out which are the edible plants and which are the look alikes.
I eagerly await his preparations for winter in Wisconsin.
If I were him I'd find a copy of this at his local Goodwill.
I like the book Afoot and Afield San Diego County as it will cover access, etc and even where to park. Often trail heads are pretty well defined with parking lots.
https://www.amazon.com/Afoot-Afield-Spectacular-Foothills-Mountains/dp/0899978010
As for etiquette. I'm only ever annoyed by people playing music without headphones. I tend to say hello to people as we pass them. Just normal human etiquette will work.
Highly recommend the book "Afoot and Afield San Diego". Info on pretty much every hike in the county, including parking instructions and important access notes.
Sure thing! I always recommend that NW newbies pick up (or check out from the library) Cliff Mass' 'Weather of the Pacific Northwest.' (you can find used copies on amazon for $2). It's way more exciting than it sounds ;p
In full disclosure I’ve only tried a couple trails from this book, but at some point I bought this guide and so far it’s been nice to have.
There’s a fair amount of National forestry maps for free if you just want to cruise fire roads as well.
Admittedly I’ve been out of 4x4 for a while (getting back into it now after a 5+ year hiatus) and I’ve only really run a few trails in addition to the rubicon in that area so I don’t have a lot of recent hands-on advice.
With all the recent taxonomic changes, that's fair.
For my region specifically, my recommendations are:
Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest
and
Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast
Amazon links for anyone interested:
https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Pacific-Northwest-Timber-Press/dp/0881929352
https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Redwood-Coast-Comprehensive-California/dp/1607748177
There maybe some forest roads. Not sure around arrowhead. Big bear has john bull, fawnskin, and cleghorn trails.
Death valley is amazing for dispersed camping and trails. Get out charles wells book:
I just read it in a book recently. I actively looked it up because I was like "wtf, did he just spell aesthetic wrong?"
I would absolutely recommend doing this over the 49 mine scenic drive. I just did this walk last week and it was lovely. It has lots of variation and nooks and crannies that most long-term SF residents probably haven't seen. By comparison, the scenic drive is going to take you under long stretches of homogeneous highways and underpasses.
If 17 miles isn't enough length for you, you could also consider completing the Stairway Walks of San Francisco. Its pretty easy to connect 2-4 of the smaller hikes in this book together for a longer hike, and will absolutely take you into gorgeous residential neighborhoods that you wouldn't have an excuse to visit otherwise.
Have you tried Griffith Park? Not only is it great for hiking, but the surrounding neighborhoods are some of the coolest in the whole country.
There is a great book called Secret Staircases of LA, that I have enjoyed a lot:
https://pasadenamag.com/people-places/explore-the-secret-stairs-of-los-angeles/
A little further from you would be places like Topanga Canyon, Malibu Creek, or even just the various beaches of Malibu, which are pretty sparsely populated. You can also take a drive up to Oxnard, Ventura, Carpinteria or the Santa Barbara area for more isolated beaches.
I’m not as familiar with them, but the San Gabriel mountains are not far from you, including all the various trails and parks they have.
If you don’t mind going south, Huntington Beach has two state beaches and one city beach that are so large in aggregate, it’s not at all difficult to carve out your own little slice of heaven. They also have the Bolsa Chica wetlands.
"Living off the land" is nice and romantic in theory, but turns out to be somewhat more challenging in practice. Read <em>Into the wild</em> by Jon Krakauer for a nonfiction account of one young man who starved to death trying to do just that.
Get this book and take it with you. It will answer all your questions.
SF - Tijuana took about 2.5 weeks.
It's essentially Highway 1 the whole way down, except through urban areas. The "Pacific Coast Bicycle Route" is signed almost the whole way through CA.
I bought this book and it was worth its weight in gold.
Fuel is always rising... go when you can.
When you do, get these books by Charles Wells:
The Weather of the Pacific Northwest was written by him. He is the real deal.
https://www.amazon.com/Weather-Pacific-Northwest-Samuel-Althea/dp/0295988479
If you are in CA this book is a great place to start. I think there is also AZ, Utah and Colorado.
This book is a good place to get started. Guide to California Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails
You can lease land from the USFS or BLM. But you’d better know what you’re doing. This guy didn’t: Into the Wild https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385486804/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_AFB78R26G9MRDAVHX6AE
I think your choice of area is pretty spot on. Anything in the North Park, Mission Hills, Hillcrest, University Heights areas. Basically check out the areas inside the borders of the 5, 8, 15, and 94 freeways. That are will give you a broad range of costs and neighborhood vibe, but will still meet your criteria. Your commutes from that area would not be bad at all.
It will always be a bit warmer more inland, and you won't experience as much morning marine layer, but the temperature difference would not be anything significant. You're still pretty close to the coast in those areas.
There is a lot of hiking in SD county. From the coast, to urban canyons, to the mountains and deserts out east. A classic book you should check out is:
https://www.amazon.com/Afoot-Afield-Spectacular-Foothills-Mountains/dp/0899978010
I've spent a lot of time in Portland for work, and I love it, but a little gray goes a LONG way for a SoCal native. I hope you like sunshine.
Good luck, and bring some VooDoo doughnuts when you come!
[Anywhere near the inlets, you get slightly warmer temps in the winter, and slightly cooler temps in the summer. I love the way the estuaries make for a nice climate moderator.
Places on the east side of the Black Hills or up against the southern Olympics get more snow and rain. They can also be the victims of weird wind effects from the Hwy 12 gap...I've even seen cyclones spawn there, on the weather radar.
Having a good southern exposure gives you many more gardening opportunities, just as being on the north-facing side of a hill means perpetual winter shade. I have the good southern exposure, but I'm also subject to wind from the south, which killed my kiwi vines and kept the apricot tree I planted from bearing any fruit (the wind destroyed the flowers.
I recommend reading Cliff Mass's Weather of the Pacific Northwest.
Here's a great discussion with a bucket list to check off.
Personally I'd get a copy of the Stairways Walks in San Francisco and go hike through as many as sound interesting to you. I really enjoyed the Pacific Heights / North Beach walks, but there are good paths throughout the city.
Good luck!
Get a copy of Stairway Walks of San Francisco by Adah Bakalinsky. We’re almost done going through the walks.
Every part of San Francisco has something interesting to see.
I just was there this weekend. Good ice cream, decent servings for the price. They were on one of the Stairway Walks of San Francisco.
Most residents of Seattle don't own umbrellas; tourists or transplants are easily spotted by looking for umbrellas. It doesn't rain hard here, it's a light drizzle that can persist for days on end though. Even more than the rain is the clouds though, with only 152 sunny days per year (national average is a little above 200). You can go a couple years here without hearing the sound of thunder, although it's a little more frequent now than it used to be.
As u/stoutlikethebeer mentions, it's hard to predict the weather here--a book, written by University of Washington meteorology professor Cliff Mass, goes into this a bit.
Ya, I may have messed up the names. But we were planning on using the route that is in "Bicycling the Pacific Coast" by Vicky Spring and Tom Kirkendall
Enjoy, I rode this section early April 2015. Should be even more beautiful in June, too! Consider getting this book before you go: https://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Pacific-Coast-Complete-Canada/dp/0898869544
Note that some specific details are beginning to be outdated. Still, it is basically the bible of the west coast bike route!
P.S. If you can ride like that in training you're good to go. I find a pace of 50 miles a day while touring to be my personal favorite amount. Everyone is different though, so you'll find your balance after a few days. Consider a day off halfway through your first week to let your body catch up to the new lifestyle.
Much of the route you are proposing is mapped by the Adventure Cycling Association in incredible detail.
There are also books like this one which give a fairly detailed description of the Seattle->LA segment. It hasn't been updated in a few years, but should still give you a very good feel for things.
I also suggest that you get yourself out for some weekend-length camping trips BEFORE you head out and try to do a really big trip.
I would agree with what people have been saying here. I just rode the Astoria to SF portion, and even in August the weather is pretty mixed.
As someone else posted, this is definitely the bible: https://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Pacific-Coast-Complete-Canada/dp/0898869544
It maps out every day for you, with most rides being between 45-65 miles, which always felt manageable. The campsites are social places and cheap, which will be a nice start to your ride, but I imagine they will be a lot quieter at that time of year.
You could save this ride for the end of this world tour, if it has an end. It might be a nice way to see it out in spring/summer. Most people tend to go south to north, I met quite a few going the other way too. The winds aren't as bad as they are made out to be, though I believe the shoulders are often a little better heading South.
Maybe consider checking out Japan/S.Korea after Australia. That will be decent to ride from March going forward, wild camping is easy, scenery is beautiful, both countries are very safe (aside from the occasional low flying missile from North Korea...).
Here is a link to the book but if you only pick one thing get the ACA maps.