Afoot and Afield with Jerry Schad

According to Jerry Schad, his favorite place to hike is Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

By Tommy Hough

From Torrey Pines to Palomar Mountain to Anza-Borrego, Mesa College physical sciences chair and Afoot and Afield in San Diego author Jerry Schad has been the undisputed expert of San Diego County hiking trails and outdoor locales since the first edition of Afoot and Afield was published in 1986.

In the intervening years, Jerry has written companion volumes of Afoot and Afield covering trails in Orange County and Los Angeles County as comprehensively as his San Diego entry, and with the recent, and heavily-revised release of the fourth edition of Afoot and Afield San Diego County last year, we're fortunate to have Jerry Schad joining us for this special edition of Treehuggers International.

In particular, Jerry talks about how Afoot and Afield In San Diego evolved from his earlier trail running and bicycling books, and how the effects of the 2003 and 2007 wildfires on San Diego's prime hiking destinations have affected the content of the guidebook's fourth edition.

Jerry also discusses wildland-urban interface zones, the Ten Essentials, San Diego County's highest peak at Hot Springs Mountain, and as an astronomy professor, where to camp in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to catch the best light show of stars and celestial wonders in the nighttime sky.

Lace up your boots for a conversation with San Diego's long-time outdoors encyclopedia, enthusiast and advocate, Jerry Schad.

More about Jerry Schad at (updated):

• ​Wilderness Press Bio
• San Diego Reader Staff Page
• Jerry Schad Roam-A-Rama Stories
• New Writer to Revise Afoot and Afield Series  (San Diego Union-Tribune, March 25, 2017)
• Mesa College Dedicates Observatory to Late Prof. Jerry Schad  (SDCCD, Nov. 18, 2015)
• Jerry Schad Memorial Trail Dedicated at Balboa Park  (San Diego Reader, Sept. 26, 2012)
• Jerry Schad's Final Book Published  (San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 3, 2012)
• San Jose Native and Author Jerry Schad Dies  (San Jose Mercury News, Sept. 25, 2011)
• Afoot and Afield Author Jerry Schad Dies at 61  (Los Angeles Times, Sept. 25, 2011)
• Losing a Friend: Jerry Schad, 1949-2011  (Treehuggers International, Sept. 23, 2011)
• Hiking Writer Jerry Schad Dies at Age 61  (San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 22, 2011)
• Journey's End for Hiking Writer Jerry Schad  (San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 10, 2011)
• End of the Trail  (San Diego Reader, July 6, 2011)
• Jerry Schad: Wish Him Well  (100 Peaks, June 6, 2011)
• Santa Ysabel Valley: San Diego's Hidden Treasure  (Los Angeles Times, May 20, 2007)
• San Diego's "He-Man" Hiker Jerry Schad  (San Diego Reader, April 2, 1987)

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Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve protects native oak-woodland once found throughout the county.

Photos by Tommy Hough