9/29 - Wildcat Canyon

 

Delia and John Taylor were our leaders today. The route was an out and back of just under 4 miles along the Wildcat Creek Tr from the Alvarado staging area off McBryde Ave. That took us halfway to Jewel Lake in Tilden

It was a largish group (12) and would have been larger if not for an unfortunate start to the day for Phred and Elaine. They misjudged the entry to the parking lot and ended up with 3 punctured tires from the tire spikes at the poorly marked entrance. This required a flatbed tow truck from AAA and an expensive visit to Les Schwab in Martinez

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/t30100 for pictures.

The walk started on pavement and Delia told us that at one time a development of 3000 homes was planned in the canyon. Read about it at http://www.friendsofwildcatcanyon.org/?page_id=55

And Gayl half remembered something about an even earlier history of the area. In 1914 a sanitarium opened here. If we had know more detail, the site would have made for an interesting side trip as it is only about 1/4 mile up the Belgum Trail. There is not much left as the house was burned by vandals in the 1970s. Read about it at

https://brokeassstuart.com/2018/03/22/hidden-east-bay-wonders-ruins-of-the-belgum-sanitarium/