9-23 Briones Res. South shore

Ten of us did the hike along the south shore of Briones Reservoir, beginning at the Bear Creek parking lot and ending at the lot by the dam. The day was reasonably warm and we were glad of the shade. Even tho we know everything is dry, the shriveled Mimulus and Baccharis, leafless gooseberries and drooping ferns made a big impression. Maples and oaks were beginning to loose their leaves; there were berries on the honeysuckle and Madrones. We did see some healthy flower buds on Manzanitas, tho. EBMUD has pumped in water for extra storage, so the reservoir was much fuller than when we hiked the trail in Oct of 2013.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/imgn2q

9-2 Tilden

There was concern as we started up Wildcat Canyon Road to Inspiration Point as a huge truck loaded with hay turned up just ahead of us. Luckily it pulled off at the old El Toyonal junction. Some of those curves are very sharp; definitely not made for trucks that size! 

12 of us started from Inspiration point and walked out Nimitz Way and down Laurel Canyon Trail to Jewel Lake and the Environmental Education Center. Monique shuttled Shirley and Juanita back to the cars, while 6 of us walked up Meadow Canyon. Shirley picked up the other 3. Sounds more complicated than it was. 3.4 miles for the shorter hike; 5.25+ for the longer one.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/o09o16

Apologies for failing to post the last few weeks...the Photo Archive does contain the details of  those hikes and links to the photos.