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Danny King's Great Outdoors Site

So you've bumped into my site, very good, pleased to see you here.

When you are heading out into the backcountry it's very important that you bring the following items.

RUBBING ALCOHOL
It's a bit heavy and you probably won't need it but in case you do it's very good to have to disinfect a wound or start a very hard to start fire. You don't need to bring a lot, a few ounces will do just fine.

FIRE STARTER
Bring plenty of lighters and matches. Lighters are very small and light so bringing extra ones in case one doesn't work is a very good idea. Without means to make fire you will freeze to death. You can try to make fire like a caveman by spinning a stick against a piece of wood but that is a skill that takes practice to learn and if you don't already have that skill you'll freeze to death before you have it figured out.

FIRST AID
Get a decent little first aid kit and complement it with anything you might think is missing.

SLEEPING PAD
Bring decent air mattresses for everyone to sleep on. They weigh more than sleeping pads but sleeping on a sleeping pad will drive you crazy.

FOLDING TOOL
You need to have a very good heavy duty knife. Bringing a Leatherman Tool or a Swiss Army Knife is fine but you have to bring a real knife as well.

STOVE
The Trailstove is my favorite back packing stove, I have quite a few. If you're only going to own one camp stove then this is the one to have. If you're like me and like to have a set of different stoves for different circumstances then the Trailstove is one of the stoves you need to have. It burns wood and it's very light, it has the lowest pack weight of all my stoves. In some places you may not be allowed to gather fire wood where you are going and then you would use another one of your stoves. The Trailstove actually comes with an optional alcohol burner for those situations if you want to use the Trailstove as your only stove.

CATCH ANIMALS WITH A ROLLING SNARE

Pick a spot where animals have an easy time passing by surrounded by natural obstacles where they would have a hard time passing through and where there is a small tree.

Find a piece of wood about an inch in diameter and a few inches long, cut a notch in it.

Find another piece of wood also about an inch in diameter but about a foot long. Cut a notch in this piece of wood too close to one end. Sharpen the other end of this stick, the notches on the two pieces should be such that they fit in each other and can take a good amount of pull along their axis but let go easily if the smaller stick is pushed sideways.

Make a lasso type knot on the string you will use and tie the string to the shorter stick in such a way that the lasso reaches the stick when open.
Bang the sharp end of the longer stick into the ground with a rock.

Tie the rope to the tree at an appropriate height and with an appropriate length of string. You may need to adjust this later to get it right.
Hook the notch of the short stick to the notch of the long stick.

Suspend the loop in the air with a couple of small twigs. That's it, all done.

Check your snares often since an animal may be able to escape, if you want you can attach some type of noise maker that goes off when an animal gets pulled up in the air. It's very important that you beat the animal to death before you take it out of the snare since they will bite you if they get a chance.

Juan Bautista De Anza National Historic Trail

San Francisco, CA

The national trail commemorates the route followed by Anza in 1775-76 when he led a contingent of 30 soldiers and their families to found a presidio and mission on the San Francisco Bay. Along the trail route, the visitor can experience the varied landscapes similar to those the expedition saw; learn the stories of the expedition, its members, and descendants; better understand the American Indian role in the expedition and the diversity of their cultures; and appreciate the extent of the effects of Spanish colonial settlement of Arizona and California. The trail was designated by the U.S. Congress in 1990 and named a National Millennium Trail in 1999. Now officially recognized only in the United States, the route began as far south as Culiac?n, Mexico, where Anza began his recruitment. The national trail starts in Nogales, Arizona, and travels to San Francisco, California, and east around the San Francisco Bay.

The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail is administered by the National Park Service in partnership with other federal, state, and local agencies, non-profit organizations, and private landowners. Non-federally owned trail sites, segments, and interpretive facilities are added to the national historic trail through certification agreements between the owner or mangers and the National Park Service.

CONTACTS

Email - meredith_kaplan@nps.gov

Fax- 510-817-1505

Write to
Pacific West Regional Office
1111 Jackson #700
Oakland, CA 94067

Phone
Headquarters - 510-817-1438
en espa?ol - 510-817-1323

TRAVEL BASICS

Operating Hours, Seasons
Varies from site to site. Contact individual site and segment owners or managers for more information.

The administering office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Closed holidays and weekends.

Getting There
CAR - Recently, the California portions of the trail have been marked for for those traveling the trail by highway. The Arizona segments will be marked as well in the next few months. You can obtain a roadguide by contacting the park office. General guidebooks for national trails: Miller, Arthur P. and Marjorie. Trails Across America. Fulcrum Publishing, Golden, Colorado. 1996. Cordes, Kathleen Ann. America's National Historic Trails. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. 1999

Weather & Climate
Summers along the trail in Arizona and the deserts of California are hot and dry. Temperatures are extremely high, largely precluding midday active recreation. Winters are mild and ideal for all types of outdoor recreation. Rainfall is low, generally occurring in December, January, and February.

In the coastal California and San Francisco Bay Area portions of the route, winters are mostly frost-free and summers mild. Outdoor recreation is a year-round possibility. The major part of these areas’ rainfall comes in the winter and early spring. The portion of the route between Gaviota on the Santa Barbara Channel and Monterey has hot dry summers and cool winters. Year-round outdoor recreation is possible, but precautions must be taken to protect from sun exposure in the summer.

Accessibility
Most buildings at federal and state sites generally meet American with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility standards. Some trail segments in urban areas such as Tucson, Arizona, or Los Angeles, California, may be accessible to all. However, many of the more rural trail segments are located along rivers in sandy soils and may not be appropriate for wheelchair use. Because of the varied character of the many sites and trail segments, it is best to inquire locally about accessibility when you contact specific sites about your visit.

Getting Around
Trail sites and segments are most easily accessible by car, bicycle, or on foot. Commercial busses could be used to follow most of the auto tour route and would provide stops near many of the trail sites in urban areas. The trail route may be followed rather closely on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight and Sunset Limited lines from Los Angeles, California to Oakland, California.

FEES/PERMITS

Entrance Fee

Free!
The National Park Service charges no fees, but individual sites may. Inquire before your visit.

FACILITIES

Museums
VINCENTE MARTINEZ ADOBE
Open All Year 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Phone - (925) 228-8860
Location - 4202 Alhambra Avenue, Martinez (The corner of Highway 4 and Alhambra Avenue)
Closures - Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day New Years Day
Special Programs - May: John Muir's Birthday June through September: Full moon walks August: Persied Meteor Shower walk and watch September: Ranch Day (Life on an 1880's Fruit Ranch) December: Las Posadas December: Victorian Christmas
Exhibits - Photo panels and artifacts.
Available Facilities - Auditorium, bookstore, and restrooms

Visitor Centers
CASA GRANDE
Open All Year 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Location - The park is in Coolidge, Arizona, about an hour-long drive from either Phoenix or Tucson. From Interstate 10 take the Coolidge exits and follow the signs to the park entrance off Arizona Route 87/287.
Closures - Christmas Day
Special Programs - Special archeological tours are offered during the Arizona State Archeology Month in March. On National Parks Day, August 25, entrance fees are waived. During Native American Month in November, special events are held throughout the local area. Special tours and events are occasionally offered through a permit system. Please call for further information.
Exhibits - The Visitor Center includes a museum with exhibits.
Available Facilities - There is an information counter, a museum exhibit area, a book store, a public phone, rest rooms, drinking fountains, and a wheelchair available.

PACIFIC WEST REGIONAL
Open All Year Monday to Friday, 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Phone - (415) 556-0560
Location - First floor of building #201 at Fort Mason. Bay and Franklin Streets, in San Francisco.
Closures - Weekends
Special Programs - Volunteers are also available to answer questions.
Exhibits - Information about all of the National Parks located in the Pacific West Region can be found in this office. Pamphlets and other visitor information can be found in the room across from the information center.
Available Facilities - Restrooms

PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO
Open All Year 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Phone - (415)561-4323
Location - Building 102, Montgomery Street
Closures - Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years
Special Programs - Ongoing and changing historic events, walks lectures, exhibits
Exhibits - Native Americans had called the San Francisco Bay region home for over 10,000 years. The San Francisco Peninsula south to Monterey was occupied by people of a common language family known as the Ohlone or Costanoan. Archeological evidence indicates an Ohlone/Costanoan presence at the site of the Presidio by at least 740 A.D. In 1769 a Spanish expeditionary force marched up the coast from Baja California, establishing presidio's (military outposts), and missions. During this early colonizing expedition the great inland harbor of San Francisco Bay was discovered, and plans were made to fortify and settle the area. In June of 1776, a colonizing expedition of soldiers and their families marched north from Monterey to San Francisco. These colonists, under command of Jose Joaquin Moraga, built an adobe quadrangle and living quarters, and dedicated the Presidio de San Francisco on September 17, 1776. In 1794 a thirteen-gun battery was constructed to defend the bay entrance. The presidial forces represented the northernmost expansion of Spanish rule in North America. Today, visitors from all over the world can savor the history and beauty of this "Jewel of the Pacific."
Available Facilities - Bookstore, theatre, exhibit

TUMACACORI
Open All Year 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Phone - 520-398-2341
Location - The Park is located in Tumcacori, Arizona. Take Interstate 19 south from Tucson 45 miles to exit 29 and follow the signs. The park is 18 miles north of Nogales, AZ, and the Mexican border.
Closures - Thanksgiving and Christmas day.
Special Programs - Guided tours are given daily during the winter months. Living history tours depicting life during the Franciscan period are given with advanced scheduling only. During the winter you will also see local and Mexican artisans demonstrate traditional crafts like tortilla and paper flower making, pottery, reverse glass painting, and Tohono O'odham basket weaving.
Exhibits - Exhibits in the visitor center museum include dioramas, santos and other information and objects related to the Kino missions, the Spanish, and the indigenous native peoples. A 14 minute video gives the visitor a good understanding of what life was like at Tumacacori in the early 1800's. Southwest Parks and Monuments Association (SPMA) has an excellent bookstore in the visitor center. Book topics are constrained to the cultural and natural resources of the general area, but range from the prehistoric period to the present. A beautiful and peaceful garden area with a fountain is representative of what many of the Missions in the area had. The tranquil nature of this living exhibit shows us how the missionaries dealt with the stresses of their day. It's an old remedy that still works well today.
Available Facilities - Public restrooms and a bookshop

Some content donated by Hikercentral.com and the National Park Service

RUBBING ALCOHOL	It's a bit heavy and you probably won't need it but in case you do it's very good to have to disinfect a wound or start a very hard to start fire. You don't need to bring a lot, a few ounces will do just fine.
FIRE STARTER	Bring plenty of lighters and matches. Lighters are very small and light so bringing extra ones in case one doesn't work is a very good idea. Without means to make fire you will freeze to death. You can try to make fire like a caveman by spinning a stick against a piece of wood but that is a skill that takes practice to learn and if you don't already have that skill you'll freeze to death before you have it figured out.
FIRST AID	Get a decent little first aid kit and complement it with anything you might think is missing.
SLEEPING PAD	Bring decent air mattresses for everyone to sleep on. They weigh more than sleeping pads but sleeping on a sleeping pad will drive you crazy.
FOLDING TOOL	You need to have a very good heavy duty knife. Bringing a Leatherman Tool or a Swiss Army Knife is fine but you have to bring a real knife as well.
STOVE	The Trailstove is my favorite back packing stove, I have quite a few. If you're only going to own one camp stove then this is the one to have. If you're like me and like to have a set of different stoves for different circumstances then the Trailstove is one of the stoves you need to have. It burns wood and it's very light, it has the lowest pack weight of all my stoves. In some places you may not be allowed to gather fire wood where you are going and then you would use another one of your stoves. The Trailstove actually comes with an optional alcohol burner for those situations if you want to use the Trailstove as your only stove.