Twin Peaks, located at the geographical heart of San Francisco, offers visitors unparalleled panoramic views of the cityscape and a peek at what San Francisco’s hills may have looked like prior to urbanization. On clear days — as rare as they may be in San Francisco — you can spot the Golden Gate...
Point Reyes, located approximately 30 miles north of San Francisco off of Highway 1, offers some of the most spectacular vistas on the West Coast. From the park’s rolling green hills to the rugged California coastline, the scenery is nothing short of breathtaking. The Lighthouse Overlook provides a...
Foothills Park, one of Palo Alto’s most beloved spots, opened its gates in late Dec. 2020 for the general public, changing its previous rule that only Palo Alto residents could enter. Upon reopening, there were 33,000 visitors within the first month, a dramatic increase from 5,000 visitors the year...
Stevens Creek Trail: Four miles away from Gunn, the Stevens Creek trail is a bike spot where you can get in touch with nature while being among communities of bikers. The trail is not designed for long-distance bikers as it is only five miles long, but it runs along the marshlands. There also tends to...
The Oracle: Why do you like to backpack?
Alain Saal-Dalma: It allows me to realize how much I use that I simply don’t need to. It is amazing to go from surviving solely on things that I can fit on my back to my normal life and realizing that there are so many superfluous things that make...
Written by Joy Huang
The Oracle: How did you start practicing survival and wilderness skills?
Chris Johnson: I’ve done living history for two-and-a-half decades of different time periods, from colonial times through the 19th century. I’ve always had a fascination with how it is that people were...
