8 of took advantage of a bright, post storm Wednesday to get out and move. With no idea what the weekend deluge had done to park trails, we stuck to pavement, starting from Rodgers-Smith Park on Grayson Rd in Pleasant Hill we took sidewalks to the Canal Trail crossing just east of Pleasant Hill Rd. The trail is generally north from there. We went as far as Taylor Blvd. At the end we made a loop thru Las Juntas Park. A bit over 3 miles.
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Again, just 8 of us. It was a cool, cloudy morning
very nice for walking; and the wind had died almost completely. We went up the Windmill Tr (the fireroad
in the valley) to the gate on the saddle, then right along the
Franklin Ridge Tr with wonderful views. We took the turn for the
Canyon Loop Tr, then off on the single track Woodland Tr. This
was the reverse of the route we took the first time we hiked this
way in 2017 shortly after this section was opened to the public.
We had the Homestead Picnic Area all to ourselves for lunch. Just
over 3.5 miles
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It was a cool gray day to start and very pleasant for walking. We were a small group and seemed to stay together more than has often been the case. The grape leaves were mostly green, the poison oak red or leafless; most of the colors were very soft. A very nice 3.5+ mile hike. One difference from our earlier visits - we returned to the cars via Castle Rock Tr (starting at the gate just north of the sharp u-turn in the trail) rather than along the main entrance road. It was about the same length and deposited us right at the cars.
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