Outdoors Writer Tom Stienstra Shares His Tales of Survival … and Top Adventure Spots

Outdoors Writer Tom Stienstra Shares His Tales of Survival … and Top Adventure Spots

From Commonwealth Club of California Podcast by Commonwealth Club of California

June 3, 2026 · 1h 2m

About this episode

Tom Stienstra shares his survival stories and tips for outdoor adventures in California.

For more than 40 years, outdoor enthusiasts have turned to Tom Stienstra for guidance on the best waterfalls, unforgettable campsites, and hidden wild places. A longtime outdoors writer and editor for the San Francisco Chronicle and KCBS-FM, Stienstra is also the bestselling author of essential guidebooks like Moon’s California Camping and 52 Weekend Adventures in Northern California. His adventures have taken him deep into the wilderness—hiking, camping, boating, canoeing, kayaking, flying, trekking, hunting, and exploring some of the most remote corners of the West. As longtime Sunset magazine travel editor Peter Fish put it, “Tom Stienstra is the Yoda of the outdoors. He literally has been everywhere and knows everything.” In his new book Heaven Delayed: One Man’s Survival of 16 Near-Death Encounters, Stienstra reflects on a lifetime of close calls: surviving a hatchet attack to the back of his head, being charged by a wild cow, and multiple near-drownings—including one rescue by his brother in an icy lake and another by his best friend in a flooding river. Then came cancer and six brain surgeries. All are brought to life in his new book, one compact volume of heartfelt…

People in this episode

Guest: Tom Stienstra

Topics covered

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: San Francisco Chronicle, KCBS-FM, Sunset magazine

Books & works: Heaven Delayed: One Man’s Survival of 16 Near-Death Encounters

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