[pct-l] GPS Usage

[Scott Williams]

Hey Mango,

That invite is always out there for hikers.  If you're ever in the Bay Area
and want a tour of Muir's home and a hike of what we've preserved of his
ranch, and down to his grave, just give me a note and if I'm in town, I'd
be happy to oblige.  I live across the street from the back of the National
Historic Site.  He married money and the home is a gorgeous Victorian
mansion on a hill overlooking the Alhambra Valley.  Inside, in his scribble
den, is the desk, at which he wrote 10 of his 11 books.  The world changed
from that place, and his legacy is a big reason that almost every ridge
line in the Bay Area is preserved land.  If we hike up nearby Mt. Diablo
which sports the biggest view in America after Pike's Peak, you'll see his
legacy at work.  The hiking is fabulous around here.  It always gives me an
excuse to talk trail, off trail.

Just behind it is the Martinez adobe, the oldest building in our county,
and home of the first Spanish land grant holder in the area.

For those who just want a little taste of Muir's ranch, there will be
several bottles of wine at the Kick Off auction table which are grown,
stomped, fermented and bottled on a small corner of Muir's old ranch.  It's
a terrific, '09  Syrah produced by a friend of mine nearby.  The only
caveat is that it's got some Shroomer thru hiker toe jam in the mix.  Yucky
beginning for a great wine.  Sorry about that, but we have quite a time
making it every year.  I very irreverently name it "John Muir Wine."  Sold
to the highest bidder, it's "good chit mon."

Shroomer