Camping In The Hills, Tour Chasing

By on May 16, 2012 in Bikes, Interesting People, Photography, Rides and Events

Another Monday, another campout. After coffee at Rapha, I headed out to Walnut Creek on BART to camp in the hills.

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I had planned to camp alone, but when I stopped by Camera West to say hi to Dan, who sold me my new Fuji X-Pro1 and rides his Rivendell to work every day, he decided to come at the last minute.

The spot we rode to is one I’ve camped at several times, but it was more overgrown than I’d ever seen it.

image of Dan with Rivendell

The campsite is at the top of a hill, and has great views of Mt. Diablo and surrounding cities.

image of Daniel with El Mariachi

I’ve removed the Anything Cages for now and swapped them with water bottles. It’s nice to have four bottles handy on a warm campout. Cass just picked up the perfect cage for the Fargo fork, made by King Cage. Titanium, with a triple bolt mount and fitted for a 40oz Kleen Kanteen. He has a picture of it on his post.

image of Hilleberg and Salsa El Mariachi

I picked a flat-ish spot to pitch my tent, but it wasn’t until I laid down that I noticed the mound right in the middle.

image of Dan with headlamp and Rivendell

The lights of the town are always a nice view.

1/6th of a second, ISO 3200

We packed up early and headed back to town.

The trail was bumpy and often covered in sand. So close to civilization, but still feels remote enough to be an adventure.

I met up with some folks from Rivendell in the afternoon and rode up about 1000 feet on Mt. Diablo to check out stage three of the Tour of California.

I’ve ridden this road maybe 70 times, it is amazing every time!

I’m really glad that Dan decided to come out camping, it’s always nice to have a companion, and he’s always a great sport. He doesn’t have a tent yet, so he just grabbed his sleeping bag and pad and slept under the stars.

It doesn’t take much to get out there and camp for one night, and with the great weather and long days there’s no excuse not to get out there! I’m headed out today for another one, if anybody is going to Samuel P. Taylor, say hi!

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14 Responses to Camping In The Hills, Tour Chasing

  1. Alan May 16, 2012 at 2:03 pm #

    Hey Daniel,
    That photo at sunset is great – the lights in the distance look like poppies. I’m impressed with that Fuji. Have you seen the black and white Leica that is coming out soon? http://en.leica-camera.com/photography/m_system/m_monochrom/
    -Alan

    Reply
    • admin May 16, 2012 at 3:18 pm #

      Hey Alan,
      I’m glad you like the photos. I have only seen some test photos online from the m9-m, looks cool if it cost 1/3 as much!

      Hope you’re doing well!

      Reply
  2. eli May 16, 2012 at 4:41 pm #

    hey daniel,
    which campsite is that? is that shell ridge? if so, which site? i’d love to camp out at that spot, it’s a beauty.

    thanks!
    eli

    Reply
    • admin May 17, 2012 at 12:38 pm #

      Yes, it is shell ridge. Unfortunately I don’t know the name of the site, it’s just a big flat hill with some beautiful trees and views!

      Reply
  3. Eric Gustafson May 16, 2012 at 5:09 pm #

    Great to see all the recent posts, Daniel. Hope you have a great experience with Backroads. Bon Voyage.

    Reply
    • admin May 17, 2012 at 12:37 pm #

      Thanks Eric! It would be great to get together once more before I head out.

      Reply
  4. Dustin G May 16, 2012 at 6:22 pm #

    Such a great Spot in the Hills. I’m in for any Monday trip in the future. A few of us were up at Juniper that Night. Good Luck with Backroads and Congrats again.

    Reply
    • admin May 17, 2012 at 12:36 pm #

      Hey Dustin, I heard that you went but wasn’t sure where. There might be one more trip before I leave, crossing my fingers!

      Reply
  5. Gino May 17, 2012 at 10:39 am #

    Drop a line any time you’re heading into Marin, and if I have the time I’ll go.

    Reply
  6. DDD May 26, 2012 at 9:42 am #

    Looks fun. Are ticks more of a problem camping in an overgrown spot?

    Regarding cameras. You have an awesome camera now. But thinking back, were you ever disappointed that you didn’t have “enough” camera? Or were you happy as long as you had something to capture the memories?

    Thanks for the info and good luck with the new job!

    Reply
    • Daniel May 29, 2012 at 9:09 pm #

      I was worried about ticks in the high grass, and surprised not to find any latched onto my legs!
      Regarding Cameras, the problem with my old camera isn’t that it wasn’t ‘enough’ of a camera, in fact it took excellent images. The problem is that there were a couple of nagging issues that I had learned to deal with, such as no optical viewfinder and limited low light capability, that were addressed in the most current generation of compact cameras. I’m sure that I could have continued to use my GF1 for a couple more years, but I decided to jump on the new Fuji based on a number of reasons including a larger and more sensitive sensor, great lenses, a fantastic hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder, and a form factor almost identical to my old Voigtlander film camera.

      Thanks for the comment!

      Reply
  7. Mike July 12, 2012 at 4:16 pm #

    Hey. Stumbled across your blog as I was looking for swimming holes in Marin. Great pics from some great trips. I will be following.

    I just moved to Fairfax from Portland and in an effort to cool my heels a bit I found Ink Wells and that looked amazing, but a sign posted warned me off due to high bacteria levels. Saw your pics from there about a year ago — do you know if that’s a common issue up there?

    Reply
    • Daniel July 13, 2012 at 9:42 am #

      Hi Mike,

      thanks for the comment! I hadn’t heard about a bacteria warning at the Ink Wells, that’s a bummer. I’ve been by there probably 20 times and have never seen a warning. Hopefully it’s not a serious threat!

      Welcome to Marin!

      Reply
  8. Thomas December 18, 2012 at 1:01 pm #

    Hello Daniel,

    I hope you are well. Sort of missing regular updates but your having really speeding your wings.
    Viewing for the first time on a MAC!! Even better for shure!!!!

    Reply

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