Tromp Blog

Radical Reels 2014 in Santa Cruz

The Banff Mountain Film Festival’s annual world tour has long been a favorite Santa Cruz winter event, selling out the Rio Theater for one weekend every February.

Hike The Great Park: Ocean View Summit

The view from Ocean View Summit is very similar to this one from McCrary Ridge: forested ridges leading to the sparkling Pacific. Photo by Miguel Vieira on Wikimedia Commons.

This Big Basin hike offers a stunning summit-to-sea perspective on the Great Park, a 200-square-mile swath of Santa Cruz Mountain redwood forest.

Still Time for Half Dome

The cables are up on Half Dome until October, meaning there's still time for mere mortals to climb it  in 2014. Photo by Rainer Hübenthal..

Summer's ending, but Yosemite's famous destination is attainable for another month yet.

Adventure Out's Jack Harrison

Jack Harrison has helped Adventure Out expand its survival and wilderness skills classes.

When he talks about the wilderness and indigenous skills like fire-starting and flint-knapping, Jack Harrison’s tone blends harsh honesty and reflective eloquence. “There aren’t any do-overs in the wild,” he says.

Randall Morgan on The Amazing Tern

An elegant tern at the top of its dive-bomb fishing maneuver—showing how it got its name. Photo by Regular Daddy.

Among Santa Cruz's rich community of amateur and professional naturalists, Randall Morgan is beloved for his knowledge, passion and wit. As Hilltromper's unofficial Naturalist-in-Residence, he answers our questions—this week, about the beautiful seabirds called terns.

Surviving Yosemite

Everyone stay cool! We took regular breaks at swimming holes on the Merced River.

Two adults, four kids, one VW camper and a very crowded national park.

SC Shakespeare Rocks Season 1

Falstaff (Richard Ziman) gets suckered into another scheme by Mistress Ford (Julia Coffey, left) and Mistress Page (Greta Wohlrabe) in Santa Cruz Shakespeare's 'The Merry Wives of Windsor.' Shmuel Thaler photo.

If you were sad to see Shakespeare Santa Cruz go, you can cheer up now.

Aiming To Do Some Archery?

Intense focus is the name of the game at the archery range in DeLaveaga Park—even for 7-year-olds.

For 3 bucks, you and your family can spend an afternoon unleashing your inner Robin Hood fantasies in a Sherwood Forest right here within our own city limits.

Adventure in The Bamboo Forest

Waterfalls and a pond await at Bamboo Giant, 38 acres of landscaped bamboo nursery on Freedom Boulevard. Bamboo Giant photo.

A trip to kid-friendly, dog-friendly Bamboo Giant in South Santa Cruz County.

Younger Lagoon Excursion

Adventure pals take in the terrace-fic sights from Younger Lagoon Reserve, part of the UC Natural Reserve System..

Exploring one of the star wetlands of the Central Coast and part of the UC Natural Reserve System.

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