Take a hike with Hikes and Dykes
TRAILBLAZING The first time Nixie Margiotta (they/them) told me they were starting a hiking group called Hikes and Dykes, I had two immediate thoughts. First: That’s hilarious. Second: Why didn’t I think of that? The name alone feels like something dreamed up in a late-night conversation over cheap beer—cheeky, irreverent, and impossible to forget. When…
Tap Truck Central Coast will bring vintage vibes and alcohol to your next shindig
OUTDOOR KITCHEN A 1969 Chevy Camaro.A 1956 Ford pickup. A 1958 Chevy Apache. A childhood spent around these old cars cemented Sharon Redwine’s love for vintage vehicles. “As a kid, I just really loved the sound of those old engines,” Redwine said. That love eventually drove her to hunt for one she could call her own:…
Robin Greenfield on finding food, medicine, and connection in the wild
OUTDOOR KITCHEN For most people, food comes from the grocery store. For environmental activist and educator Robin Greenfield, food come from forests, lakes, roadsides, and fields. Greenfield is currently immersed in what he describes as “a year of foraging 100 percent of [his] own food and medicine.” There are no grocery stores, restaurants, gardens, supplements,…
Several agencies respond to your calls for help in the backcountry
FEATURE There’s no room for error on the Vicente Flat Trail. In some places, slipping off the narrow path means tumbling hundreds of feet down into the canyon surrounding Hare Creek in southern Big Sur. About 5 miles in and 1,800 feet up, the Vicente Flat Campground sprawls out under a redwood grove next to…
Give your feet a chance to be as close to bare as possible with minimalist shoes
GEAR HUB Going barefoot was just one piece of a puzzle. A few months into the pandemic, I noticed how badly my shoulders ached after sitting at my desk. So I tried standing. I got adjustable risers for my desks at work and at home, but my shoulders still ached. Eventually I wondered if the…
A look at what archers of all experience levels need to carry during an outdoor target shoot
GEAR HUB Last October, almost exactly a year after I got my wooden recurve bow, I packed a new quiver for my first archery competition. I’d put a lot of thought and research into how to attach my arrows and other necessities to my waist ahead of the day-long outdoor shoot, but what would I…
Astronomy buffs share their knowledge of the night sky during monthly star parties
FEATURE When Aurora Lipper looks through a telescope, she sees into the past. It takes light so long to travel to Earth that the faraway galaxies appearing in the lens may no longer be the same. Starry objects can be tens of millions of light years away. So far out that light spent millions of…
Achieve ‘beach karma’ with the Central Coast Treasure Hunters Association
TRAILBLAZING Whether it falls around sunrise or closer to the witching hour, low tide is when you’ll find Los Osos resident Matt Andrews out on a beach looking for treasure, armed with his metal detector. While drawing lines in the sand, Andrews grids the ground he covers to avoid missing a spot or scanning the…
Central Coast Women for Fisheries spreads the word about life at sea
FEATURE Living like fishermen isn’t for the meek. They tackle long hours at sea away from their families, risking catastrophic vessel disasters, element exposure, accidental falls overboard, and troublesome heavy deck machinery in unpredictable maritime settings. The lives of the women close to them are no less marked by sacrifice. “Some of the women in…
