Posts Tagged ‘Hiking and walking’
Black History Month, Celebrating with a special hike
This week we had strong winds, rain and snow resulting trees and branches falling, and power outages yet again. Yes you heard that right, snow! Since our hiking boots have been holding up, we decided to explore another park during the lull between the storm. Last weekend of February, with just a few days to pay tribute to Black History Month, we chose Sam McDonald Park. Our chosen hike was the Heritage Grove Loop – spanning heritage grove trail and towne fire trail – from main parking lot to trail marker 25 to 30 to 26 to 20 and back to the mail parking lot. It is a 4 mile hike but we went off the trail – from trail marker 26, we went off towards 6 and then backed up. We ended up walking a little more than 5 miles and 65 stairs.
Read the rest of this entry »Coal Creek OSP, Feb 2023
In the winter months, after the rains, it is nice to go see the seasonal waterfalls in our forests. We went on a 4 mile hike through Coal Creek Open Space Preserve. Our hike started on Alpine road trailhead, and we climbed the bypass trail, the Crazy Pete’s trail and climbed down via the Coal trail back to the trailhead. The milkmaids were in bloom. From parts of Alpine, we could see the Corte Madera Creek which was also flowing enthusiastically. The trail intersects with coal creek on Crazy Pete’s road where there was a seasonal waterfall. I recorded the sounds, both upstream and downstream of the bridge and it was distinctly different. How obvious, but how so wonderful. There were a number of bikers and the trails were muddy. All in all, it was a welcome getaway.
Palo Alto Baylands, Jan 2023
This is a six mile hike starting at Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve Trailhead. We walked to South Adobe Creek Loop Trailhead on to Adobe Creek Trail, past the bowl, almost all the way to North Adobe Creek Loop Trailhead and back. We did take a minor detour through the Byxbee Park art installations, the pole field and wind wave. The park is beautiful and located on a sanitary landfill. Apparently, due to the nature of the land and sensitive habitat, there are no impermeable surfaces and all paths are of crushed oyster shells. There are no trees whose roots might pierce the clay cap. There is no irrigation so only native grasses are used! This Bay trail offers a longer walk, a lot more people as well as bird species compared to Bair Island.
Read the rest of this entry »Starting 2023 with a hike
The year started with a glorious day, it was clear blue sky between the passage of two atmospheric rivers. We went for a short 2 mile hike with a friend on Skyline Ridge trail near Teague Hill. This section of Skyline appears to have a higher than normal density of manzanitas.
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Immersed in blue on Ravenswood Trail, Dec 2022
I bet it happens to you often enough that you see something for years, but you don’t really see it. The Don Edwards San Francisco National Wildlife Refuge protects the bay marshes, it has a number of trails and locations including Bair Island and Alviso. The trail we have been seeing for two decades is the Ravenswood Point by Dumbarton Bridge near Menlo Park. We finally walked this 3.3 mile trail. It was a morning hike, the sky was clear, the winds were low and the Bay tranquil. The sound from Dumbarton Bridge carries as there are no trees to absorb the sound. The noise isn’t enough to distract, but this trail isn’t a quiet spot. The noise doesn’t seem to distract the birds. By the time you get to the north most point of the trail, the cars sound more like ocean waves. We found someone fishing there. The trail is wide, well maintained, flat and easy to walk on. There were footprints of birds, humans, dogs, bikes and vehicles.
Read the rest of this entry »Water Dog Lake Open Space, Dec 2022
Our 3 mile neighborhood hike took us to Water Dog Open Space. The park is also known as Hidden Canyon Park. We parked at the Upper Creek Trailhead on Hastings Drive. Our route took us to Finch Trail, Ramber Trail, followed by the Elevator Trail, then Canyon Creek trail back to the trailhead. While the net elevation change could not have been more than 200-300 ft, short stretches of the trail are steep. Rambler skirts the back of San Carlos and Belmont homes and it does feel a little strange walking through someone else back alley. The park appears to be popular with bikers. This park made me feel as if I was elsewhere in California, perhaps because there were no noticeable poison oak.
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Laurelwood (or is it Sugarloaf) Park, Dec 2022
Another short hike with spectacular view through Laurelwood Park in San Mateo. The park seems to be around Sugarloaf mountain, it is more of a small 400 ft tall hill. Some of the trails are very steep or had very steep sections. We couldn’t find a trail map and used Google maps instead. The total hike was about 2 miles. Starting at the San Juan Canyon fire road, we went up the Gravity trail to Sugarloaf-Spur trail, then all the way to the east point of Sugarloaf peak to gaze at the Bay views, then back to Laurelwood Park trail and down the Saddle trail to Salson trail to San Juan Canyon fire road to complete the loop. We met a few dog walkers but otherwise had the park to ourselves on a weekday.
Read the rest of this entry »Eaton Park, Dec 2022
Eaton Park in San Carlos is a neighborhood miniature open space (~58 acres) and the Eaton Trail is a cute as a button trail with Bay views, tiny stairs, tiny bridges, and benches galore. We clocked about 2 miles and an estimated elevation change of 200 ft. From Loma Road entrance, to Hawk Hill trail to Eaton trail all the way to Brittan Avenue, up back, to 4 Bridges trail to Vista Trail to Canyon View Trail to Eaton trail back to start. It was a weekday and there wasn’t a crowd.
Read the rest of this entry »Trails of Russian Ridge, Dec 2022
Over last weekend, we completed two hikes. The first one started from the charming Mindego Hill trail parking by the Audrey Rust commemorative site. We traversed the relatively flat Ancient Oaks Trail, went down Charquin Trail and then climbed up the steep Mindego Hill Trail. Earlier in the spring, we had hiked along Ancient Oaks trail and it was covered with poppies. Last time, we had been on Mindego Hill trail, it was under fog cover and had very little visibility. The second hike started by the main parking lot and we did an out and back on the Ridge trail.
Read the rest of this entry »Finding new in the familiar, Edgewood, Oct 2022
I wouldn’t recognize a Blueschist or Franciscan greenstone or Greywacke or Serpentinite, but Edgewood has them. I can only see colors and shapes in a rock pile. The blues and greens and sparkles of minerals do look beautiful, don’t they?
Read the rest of this entry »Alambique Trail in Wunderlich, Sep 2022
The Alambique Trail is a 4.7 mile service road that starts near the main parking lot and climbs 1400 ft to the Skyline Blvd. We had covered the first 0.7 miles of Alambique trail in April. Last weekend, we had traversed 1.7 miles of the upper end of the Alambique. This warm weekend, we were lucky to find a parking spot at this popular Folger stable. We met at least a dozen other diverse groups on the trail, a few solitary runners, groups of octogenarians on a slow and steady climb, a group of girls on horses and a few young families pushing baby prams.
Read the rest of this entry »Upper Wunderlich trails, Sep 2022
We had intended to hike the Alambique trail, but Wunderlich parking lot was full. So, we decided to hike the Skyline ridge and Alambique loop starting at the lower end of Skyline trail at the intersection of Ranch/Stadler Roads. The trailhead is in a residential area outside the boundaries of the park, so there was no formal parking lot, nor crowd. The first intersection is the crossroads from where we walked the skyline trail service road to the trailhead intersection on Highway 35 and then walked back on Alambique. It was about 5 miles with a gentle grade, perhaps 200-300 ft of climb.
The entire five miles is almost entirely shaded, and occasionally, the clearings through trees offer views of the Bay. The skyline portion of the trail has the aroma of bay leaves. Alambique nearer the skyline intersection catches fog drip and presents an understory of ferns. These portions of Skyline ridge and Alambique trails are service roads and therefore, wide and easy to walk on. A few sections on skyline offer hairpin switchbacks and steep mountain sides, adding to the visual interest. While there was a big crowd at the base of the park, the trails here were quiet. We came across no more than half a dozen hikers along the way. You do hear the traffic noise from Highway 35 from time to time.
Read the rest of this entry »Skyline Ridge trail in Sanborn County Park, Sep 2022
Starting from Sunnyvale Mountain trailhead, this portion of Skyline trail goes to Indian Rock trail and back. Estimated length is approximately 6 miles. For most of the hike, the trail hugs Highway 35 but it wasn’t particularly noisy this particular weekend. We had just come off a major heat wave during the Labor Day weekend. The trail is almost entirely shaded and this particular day, it was rather windy. The treetops danced around creating a gush of sound, but the forest floor was not windy. The trail is mostly packed dirt but stretches of it are quite rocky. One does need to share the trail with bikers. The short Indian Rock trail portion is totally worth it and yes, it is an excellent spot to picnic while watching climbers. On our way back, heavy fog rolled in and we enjoyed the occasional fog drip, after the heat wave, it felt particularly soothing.
Read the rest of this entry »Skyline Ridge OSP, a trail through two ponds, Aug 2022
From Russian Ridge parking lot on Alpine Road, this 4 mile hike starts by the Alpine pond, takes the Ipiwa trail at David Daniels Nature Center, to Sunny Jim trail, to Horseshoe Loop trail around the Horseshoe Lake to Sunny Jim trail and back on the Ipiwa trail. Had read about the hike, thanks to Jane Huber. The trail is along top of the ridge at about 2200 ft, but the climb and descent is only a couple of hundred feet. Much of the Ipiwa trail needs attention, it is a bit rocky and exposed and the spectacular west views are giddying at times. When the fog lifts, you can see the Pacific Ocean. We noticed deer, turkey and rabbits. The Horseshoe loop between Lambert Creek trail and Tree Farm trail is pretty as a picture. During right times of the year, the ponds offer migratory bird watching opportunities. There are a lot of trail intersections and all well marked.
Read the rest of this entry »Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Aug 2022
A heat wave passed by during our time in the Humboldt county. Myer’s Flat clocked over 100F. We thought we would spend the hot day walking under the redwood giants. We stopped by the visitor center to pick up a map. We had intended a 8 mile hike through alluvial flats starting from Rockefeller grove – Bull Creek flats south to Big Trees Trail to Bull Creek flats north. First, we nearly missed Rockefeller Grove. Later, after crossing the Bull Creek footbridge, we got off the trail early on, meandered around the forest floor for a mile, hit a dead end and headed back out. On our way back, we stopped by Founder’s Grove. The 2.5 mile walkabout under the redwoods – Rockefeller and Founder’s Grove – had registered 90F.
Read the rest of this entry »Lost Coast Trail South, Aug 2022
This was a total of five mile hike, out and back, and a climb of 800-1000 feet. The hike is part of the Lost Coast Trail South. We started from Wailaki campground, climbed up Chemise Mountain to Lost Coast trail, walked half a mile past the Chinquapin Trail junction. The entire day at Shelter Cove was foggy, but the fog didn’t get to the Chemise mountain top. This was also our last hike this trip and the most spectacular one. We had originally intended to start this hike at the Hidden Valley interpretative tail, but eventually chose the Wailaki campground for the ease of parking. The drive on Chemise Mountain road from Shelter Cove Road to Wailaki campground is exceedingly pretty. And again, like the Hidden Valley interpretive trail, we had this trail to ourselves.
We have been hiking frequently in Bay Area this year and a typical Bay Area hike is through the chaparrals, manzanitas, coastal oak, and madrone. The hiking paths are commonly trod upon, the signs are plentiful and the trail is a shared space with many others. The air smells sweet from California Bay. Here on the lost coast, the tree species is shifted towards the conifers but otherwise familiar. What is noticeable is the fact that the trails are far less trod upon and far less friendly to inexpert hikers. Shoes scrunch and slip on piles of dry leaves. Under the leaves lay gnarly roots that can make your footing unsteady. The sense of isolation is made even more complete when loud bird cries fill the air and the air smells of nothing.
Read the rest of this entry »Hidden Valley Interpretive Trail, Aug 2022
According to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) map of King Range Conservation Area, Hidden Valley was the homestead of one of Shelter Cove’s first white settler, Frank McKee. Frank bought 160 acres from US government in 1876 and BLM purchased the land in 1981. The Hidden Valley Interpretive Trail, at the intersection of Shelter Cove Road and Chemise Mountain Road, is approximately 1.8 miles, and provides a surprising view of a mountain valley prairie. There is a gentle climb up, about two hundred feet. We were the only visitor on the trail that afternoon.
Read the rest of this entry »Black Sands Beach, Aug 2022
We drove up from Bay Area to Shelter Cove for a few days to catch the ocean and the night sky. We binge watched the Great British Baking show, watched the Pacific Ocean from the comfort of the living room of our AirBnB and hiked a few hikes in the Humboldt County. The first one had to be part of the Lost Coast trail by the beach.
We started from Black Sands Beach trailhead near us, and walked up north to where Horse Mountain Creek runs to the beach. It is only about a couple of miles from the trailhead and protected from the rise of tides. Thankfully, the fog was minimal that morning which we later realized wasn’t to be taken for granted, the rest of our days were shrouded in fog. The sand is indeed black, the stones are black and they eventually grind down to the black sand. The ocean waves are strong and the white foam of the crashing waves dazzle against the black sand. Our going was slow, no more than 2 miles an hour, our boots sank in the sand or clattered on the rocks. It is monotonously beautiful meeting of ocean, rocks and sky. Sounds of crashing waves and sea gulls filled the air. The sea air filled our lungs and where there was sea weed left behind by waves, the smell grew stronger. Our monotonous view was broken a few times by creeks coming down the mountain, these formed small waterfalls before disappearing into the sand and leaving behind colorful green, yellow and orange algae in their path.
Periodically, we sat down on a bleached driftwood and shook out the sand and pebbles from our shoes. We met a few other hikers on our way, a couple of day hikers going south to north like us and a handful of back packers were wrapping up their north to south lost coast pilgrimage.
Read the rest of this entry »Bear Creek Redwoods, Aug 2022
We followed the POST recommendation for the Bear Creek Redwoods hike. There is a short wheelchair accessible Upper Loop trail near the parking lot that circumnavigates a pond called Upper Lake – there are a number of benches to sit and have lunch afterwards, although none of the benches are shaded. The first mile of the Alma trail and the Madrone Knoll trail are the steepest climbs. The trail is well marked, shaded, broad and well traversed. The last bit of Alma and Madrone Knoll trail are close enough to highways to hear the cars going past. For most part of the hike, the air is fragrant with the smell of bay leaves. We estimated 7.4 miles and 1200 ft in net elevation gain.
Read the rest of this entry »Edgewood Park, Jul 2022
It is another cool day here in Bay Area and Edgewood beckoned us yet again. Right after our last hike to the park, a fire (6/21-6/26) had burned down 20 acres (of a total of 467 acres). The incident caused power outage for nearly 9000 residents and caused significant havoc to Stanford University campus. We were, thankfully, untouched and are grateful that the fire damage is minimal. This park is a little gem, with its native wildflower diversity – note the section on Fight to Save Edgewood from Friends of Edgewood Preserve and the wildflower survey.
Today, we started the hike at the park entrance on Edgewood road, and from trail marker 1, we first walked 1.2 miles on Edgewood trail to marker 13, then 0.2 miles on Ridgeview trail to marker 15, another 0.2 miles on Franciscan Trail to marker 12, then 0.5 miles on Live Oak Trail to marker 17, then 0.6 miles on the Ridgeview Trail to marker 13, then 0.1 miles on Edgewood Trail to marker 9, then 0.3 miles on Serpentine Trail to marker 10, and the final 0.7 miles on Old Stage Road to the parking lot. A total of about 3.8 miles.
Read the rest of this entry »Pescadero Creek Loop, Jul 2022
We followed the recommendations from POST. It was a surprisingly quiet hike. For the first 5 miles, we saw only five other people. Right at the end, there was a large group of 20-30 people on a docent led tour. Portions of the Pescadero county park were still closed due to the 2020 fires. The coyote ridge trail looked neglected. The creek had dried up. The Pomponio trail was perhaps my favorite with its forest of sorrels.
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Purisima Creek Trail, Jul 2022
Starting at the Higgins Road Trailhead southeast of Half Moon Bay, we climbed the Purisma trail all the way to Skyline trailhead (nearly) and then climbed back, a total distance of about 7 miles and net elevation gain of about 1000 ft. As promised, the Higgins Road Trailhead parking lot was busy, we ended up parking illegally and picked up a parking fine. The first mile is relatively flat and simply glorious for the senses, with the gentle sound of water and dappled sunlight. And I simply love walking under the redwoods, the layers of fallen needles on the ground form a gentle cushion for the foot. Over a decade ago, we had tried this trail from the skyline trailhead and perhaps never made it all the way to the to the creek.
Read the rest of this entry »Service roads of Huddart Park, Jul 2022
Huddart is the closest park to us with second growth redwoods. It offers cool trails in the summers, is well marked and is welcoming with its numerous picnic spaces. This Fourth of July weekend, it continued to be cold and foggy, so we chose an unexpected summer hike through its service roads. From Zwierlein Picnic Area to Richards Road Trail to Toyon Group Camps and down back on Campground Trail. On the Huddart Park map, it is trail junctions 21 to 26 to 6 to 19 to 17 to 21. We had intended to climb all the way to Skyline Blvd on Richards Road, but the path was closed due to flood damage.
Read the rest of this entry »A foggy day on Mindego Hill, Jul 2022
Mindego Hill is a POST recommended hike for month of June. As one of the highest points in the area, Mindego Hill has amazing 360-degree views (see hiking photos by Hiking Shenandoah). We spent our hike with Karl the Fog. It also meant we had the trail to ourselves – more or less. It is an out and back trail. The parking lot on Alpine road and the Mindego Summit are about the same height. The first half a mile is a steep downhill. The last mile is a gentle climb on a narrow path on cow pasture. Apparently, Mindego Hill is underlain by basalt, Miocene-age volcanic rock. The basalt has high water holding capacity and stable structure which supports good forage.
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Locomotoring 