Paulina Dao, Author at stg.littlegrunts.com

Adventures Food Hiking

Ferment & Forage with the Little River Inn

The Little River Inn recently extended an invite to attend their first ever Ferment and Forage Experience celebrating the gathering food from the land and sea. I grew up picking blackberries on bushes at summer camp and eating vinegar ants right out of the ant hill. After hearing countless stories of how friends foraged for mushrooms and the like in my metaphorical backyard, I wanted to learn how.

The Little River Inn brought Kevin from Countryman Forager, folx from Freedive Shop, Emma from Rising Tide Sea Vegetables, and the Inn’s own manager and resident fermenter, Cally, for foraging and cooking demos. If you’ve ever been curious about eating in the wild, this event is an excellent stepping stone.

Paulina Dao July 6, 2018

0 515 1

Read Later

Adventures Hiking

Best Redwood Hikes in the Bay Area

Summer in the Bay Area means the tourists and out-of-townere are coming. Muir Woods sits at the top of everyone’s bucket list of San Francisco must dos. With its groves of old growth redwoods, it’s hard not to see why. This NPS unit is family friendly and accessible for all.

However, access these days is getting more tough. Muir Woods now requires shuttle or parking reservations to reduce congestion on this small, impacted area. (Foot or bike traffic is not affected by this change.)

If redwoods are on your list, but reservation systems and crowds and boardwalks are not, I’ve compiled a list of redwood hikes in the Bay Area varying lengths and degrees of difficulty that are equally amazing or better than Muir Woods.

Read on for the full list of best redwood hikes in the Bay Area.

Paulina Dao May 31, 2018

0 475 1

Read Later

LG.com

Empowertisement Done Wrong

Photo: Sasha Turrentine

Empowertisement, the act of using female empowerment as advertisement, is roaring hard right now. I’m not going to knock it because let’s face it, we live in a capitalist society. Companies need money to do good and affect change. Where does the money come from? By selling stuff.

Empowertisement, when done well, can be a beautiful thing. It is incredibly powerful to see diverse faces and voices reflected in marketing material because it shows that you belong. REI believes that women are a Force of Nature. The North Face shows us that She Moves Mountains. Outdoor Research empowers with She Adventures.

Mountain Hardwear? As a sponsor of Flash Foxy’s Women’s Climbing Festival, they want you to buy their jeans.

Paulina Dao April 26, 2018

0 567 6

Read Later

Adventures Hiking

Hiking Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve

Earlier this month, I had the chance to check out Bear Creek Open Space Preserve in Los Gatos. Up until recently, I didn’t know that this spot existed right off bustling Highway 17. It’s a chunk of land under the care of Midpeninsula Open Space Trust that’s currently not accessible to the public, except by permit.

Paulina Dao April 24, 2018

0 428 1

Read Later

Adventures Hiking

Hiking the Dool-Middle Ridge-Meteor-Sequoia Loop, Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Big Basin Redwoods State Park is one of my go to hikes when I’m bumming around the Bay Area on the weekends. I never really venture away from the Berry Creek Falls loop though. It’s such a good one.

When my friend Brie vetoed Berry Creek Falls in favor of the Dool-Middle Ridge-Meteor-Sequoia Loop, I was skeptical.

Paulina Dao April 23, 2018

0 623 1

Read Later