Hiking, biking and wining in California's great outdoors

California is a great place to hike, but I wouldn't want to work there (although I have). Last weekend I joined former Associated Press foreign correspondent Rodney Angove for a trek along the San Andreas Fault in two places, as well as along the shoreline of Palo Alto. Nothing particularly demanding, but all rewarding.

At Sanborn County Park, just outside Saratoga, the trails are neat, the maps were a bit confusing, but all was fun. At one point, a fawn was nibbling away just about 10 feet from the trail. Unafraid, it watched us casually between bites of grass. It was tame to a fault.

Finding the San Andreas Fault was easy enough, as it is traced through a series of vertical 4-by-4 posts starting from a grassy plain. But more about the San Andreas Fault in a later story.

We continued on the trail of the fault at Los Trancos Park, along the Black Mountain Range. The trail there vividly shows what happened in the 1906 earthquake, with a reconstructed fence with a 4-foot lateral gap where the quake shifted the ground. More on that later.

The nice thing about hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains is the plethora of wine-tasting spots, such as the Savannah-Chanelle vineyards at 23699 Congress Springs Road, in Saratoga. It costs just $5, and plenty of good tastes plus live piano music.

The hike along the Palo Alto shoreline, a series on ponds and salt sites, is usually more about birds than mammals. But on that Sunday, a sea lion had somehow come south from the Golden Gate area and climbed a berm and become trapped in the ponds. It took a crew of men to get the massive sea lion quieted with a dart then drag it in a canvas bag to a truck for removal to its normal home. Quite a crowd of onlookers witnessed the rescue.

The shoreline park is vast and borders the bay for a couple of miles. The trails are tame, but the sights worth the trip. A lake provides for rented paddle boats and sailing.

BIKING AT MAMMOTH

The Mammoth Mountain Bike Park now has nearly 40 miles of single-track trails open from the top to bottom. Downhill mountain-bikers can now ride the Panorama Gondola to Mammoth's summit for top-to-bottom runs on the expert trails.

Mammoth's Mountain Bike Park has terrain for all levels of riders. Beginner trails currently open include Uptown and Downtown. Intermediate trails include Off the Top to Kamikaze to Mountain View, Paper Route, Big Ring, Timber Ridge, Lakes Trail and Juniper.

Mountain bike tours and lessons for all levels of riders are available daily at the Adventure Center from 10 a.m.-noon and 2-4 p.m. Call (888) SNOWRPT.

• Contact Sam Bauman at 881-1236 or sbauman@nevadaappeal.com.