California camping this summer/autumn

Before setting off on a camping trip anywhere in California, I always check weather and road conditions, which are particularly important in autumn when an early "winter" storm can close roads in the mountains and make campgrounds too soggy for a tent. This summer and autumn in our bone-dry state, I'm thinking that fire conditions (http://www.fire.ca.gov/index_incidents.php) will be even more important than roads or weather.

So far this spring and early summer we've had significant fires in the north and south of the bay area, and in forests near Big Sur, Redding, and Yosemite (just to name a few). Some of my favorite car camping destinations this time of year include remote sections of Plumas National Forest, Lassen National Forest, and the forests around Yosemite National Park. I feel uneasy planning a trip in any forest this summer or autumn, since it seems that no place is safe from fires.

So where to go? Maybe the safest bet would be someplace immediately on the coast, with easy access to a large paved road and few trees. That rules one of my favorites, Gold Bluffs Beach up in Prairie Creek Redwoods (too far from the road, too many trees).

Maybes:
Salt Point State Park
Van Damme State Park
MacKerricher State Park
Manchester State Park
Patrick's Point State Park

Any other ideas? How about a yurt in Oregon?

Checking out the newest trail at Pulgas Ridge

I just love Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve. It's one of those places where the sum adds up to more than the parts -- if I look critically at aspects of this place, there's a lot to dislike (a location so close to roads and houses, lots of dogs on the trail), but somehow it all works.

Dusky-footed Woodrat Trail is the newest trail at Pulgas, and it is wonderful, with all my favorite features of Polly Geraci Trail, expanded and intensified. DFWT starts in the lower reaches of the preserve then climbs out of a canyon, mostly on switchbacks, through mixed woods to chaparral with sweeping views of the preserve, Edgewood just to the south, and the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west. For such a small preserve, Pulgas Ridge has a diverse assortment of plants and trees, and the high reaches of DFWT is lined with some of my favorite chaparral shrubs, including manzanita, chaparral pea, chamise, and toyon. I worried that traffic noise from 280 would be a problem, and there is one brief section of the trail that draws close to the road -- this segment is noisy, but it is short. All in all it's a great addition to the preserve, and really increases the loop options for hikers. I can't wait to go back for wildflowers in late winter and spring.

But wow, was it hot. I had forgotten what it's like to hike in summer heat.