I am passionate about life on this amazing planet and can get  overwhelmed by how much work there is to do to keep it safe and healthy. I get emails every day from environmental groups with large and international missions to curb global warming, protect wilderness areas, save endangered species and clean up the oceans. I donate to these groups, sign their petitions and make phone calls to my congress people when asked. Last fall, however, I decided to take direct action. I took a small action, one that doesn't affect the whole planet or even my whole town. But it was an action I could manage and it made a difference to the environment, me and the small community of people who hike Mt. Tam's Old Railroad Grade in Mill Valley, CA.

Old Railroad Grade follows the route originally carved out for the Mt. Tamalpais Scenic Railway, which opened in 1896 and gained international fame as the "Crookedest Railroad in the World." The railway stopped running in 1930, a victim of a devastating fire in 1929 and the Great Depression. On the section of the Grade that I hike, there's a fence that was probably installed while the railway was still in operation. It is in disrepair and the Redwoods that must have been tender saplings when the fence was built, are now towering majestic trees.