03/26 - Rockville Hills

 

We walked a clockwise circle on a gray and windy day. The light was great for photography tho. The huge herd of goats doing fuel reduction brought lots of smiles.

We were too late for the red fritillary, altho there were faded remnants of bloom so we know they are still growing in the usual spot. 13 hikers and 3 dogs; under 3 miles.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/kYwRX5Lw2r

03/19 - Briones to Mt Diablo Tr (Larkey Park to Acalanes Ridge)

 

There was a very large group today: 21 humans and 5 dogs!! We walked SW from Larkey Park to Acalanes Ridge and then circled the ridge on single track trails before rejoining the trail we had walked earlier. Fiddlenecks were the flower of the day, but there were lots of other blooms.  It was a 3.4 mile workout with lots of up (and down).

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/iq2JWx49P7

 

03/05 - Shell Ridge

 

The weather forecast was so uncertain and the sky so gray that we stayed close to "home" today. Jennifer suggested Shell Ridge and that turned out to be an excellent choice.

We started from the Sutherland Dr entrance, walked east and then down the steep section to the pond, back up to Briones Rd, then east again and south to the junction with Indian Creek Trail which we took back to Fossil Hill. There was a good sized group (15 + 2 dogs). Enough of us wore rain jackets that the clouds were just dramatic and didn't get us wet. 2.5 miles

For those of you who remember the lavish displays of native wildflowers on the hillside just inside the gate, you will be as sad as we were to know that it is now fenced with restricted access. There had been too many careless people wandering thru the flowers, trampling plants, all for social media photo ops :-(

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/393w852WEY