For our final hike of 2024, 9
of us hiked from the end of Coach Dr up and around to the Sobrante
Ridge Preserve manzanita grove and back. We started in dense fog
and the hike ended in sunshine. 2.6 miles
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/0j0ZDrc536
Counting our hosts Ron and Sylvia,
there were 20 Wednesday Walkers today as we celebrated another
year of friendship. Eight of us took a brief 1 mile walk along
Turtle Creek before returning to stuff ourselves with all sorts
of goodies.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/T18922k2Vs
12/04 - Vaca Creek/Almond Ranch
There were a dozen of us today, taking advantage of dry sunny weather as we walked from the EBRPD parking lot on Alhambra Valley Rd up the Vaca Creek Tr to the Ridge Tr and the Almond Ranch property. It was hazy, but green is starting to show and it was a good morning to be out and moving. The highlight was the spotting of what we decided was a golden eagle sitting in the top of a tree. 3.5 miles
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/6X55Vga14x
11/27 - Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley
This was the perfect day to walk along the Bay. We went, for the first time, to Cesar Chavez park near the Berkeley Marina at the foot of University Ave. It was clear and bright after our storms, and the main trails are paved or gravel and not muddy. We enjoyed snooping in one of the areas undergoing ecological restoration. Elaine and Delia know people involved with the project. Only a bit over 1.5 miles but just right for the day before Thanksgiving.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/2T416bP0V8
11/13 - UC Botanical Garden
We started with the exhibit of the Florigeum being created for the garden; this is the 3rd exhibit and includes 75 illustrations both new and from the previous exhibits. Lee gave an overview of the project and the displayed art work. Then some of us walked in the garden including the newly reopened Tropical house.
The sky was clear when we arrived, but getting quite gray as we left the Julia Morgan Building and the first spritz of rain hit the windshield as we drove home. Excellent timing!!
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/F9s87Kd9Y0
There were a dozen of us today on a wonderful autumn day. It was chilly at the start and we didn't see any tarantulas. The grapes were not yet in full color, but beautiful none the less. We got our wildlife "fix" near the end of the hike as we watched a bobcat. 4 miles.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/q30dm4e398
Eleven of us started NE up Costanoan Tr as far as the bench where we stop when coming S from Ginder Gap. There we went thru the gate and took the single track Ridge Tr back toward the south. Ridge Tr joins the Briones/Mt Diablo Tr about 2/10 of a mile before the junction with the Borges Ranch Tr. We turned slightly west at that junction and followed the road south, past the ponds, and back up hill as far as Stonegate Tr. where we rejoined the Briones/Mt Diablo Tr for the return to Borges Ranch. About 3.4 miles
A beautiful autumn day!! We started with long sleeves and took off layers as the day warmed. At the end of the hike we enjoyed the shaded picnic area and the treats Delia and Daniella brought to share.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/3i838R3302
There were eleven of us hiking today at Fernandez Ranch even tho most of us had a few drops of rain at home. The sky was gray but it didn't rain; a very good day to be out walking. We went out Windmill Tr, getting the nasty hill out of the way to start with. Then WNW on the segment of the Bay Area Ridge Trail and finally circling back on the aptly named Woodland Tr to rejoin Windmill Tr. about 3.5 miles
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/T0b880Q7gk
After way too many days of
100°+ weather, the fog was finally back on the Bay side of the
hills!! Eight of us walked the usual route from the old Giant Hwy
parking lot to the spit and back (under 2.5 miles) and were very
glad to be out and moving in the fresh air; long sleeves and
jackets seemed strange but welcome.
There was talk of what the historic shoreline might have been, so
you will get some snips of old maps to help visualize the changes
as well as the usual hike pictures. The old topo maps from HISTOPO
at UC Berkeley helped a lot (https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/histopo).
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/8Xe2WC27N4
10/02 - no hike, extreme heat
09/25 - no hike, walkers too busy
09/18 - West Ridge, Redwood Regional Park
Nine of us walked from the Redwood Regional Park Skyline Gate to the
Chabot Space and Science Center and back on a very foggy morning.
This was the walk originally planned for last week. The consensus
was that we really ought to do this more often than once every 10
years! There was a lot to look at. It is likely very crowded on
weekends and there were quite a few dogs. We were treated to more of
Jennifer's grapes when we got back to the cars. Just over 3.5 miles
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/70s2tj1qb2
The shade was welcome as 8 of us made
the clockwise loop at Huckleberry Preserve starting from the
Skyline entrance. It was 94 when I got home just before 1. The
hike is under 2 miles, but certainly seemed longer. Jennifer
brought grapes from her garden and we enjoyed them as a treat at
the end of the walk.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/349we625xE
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/4918WJ22bH for pictures.
A bit of history: The reservoir is impounded by Briones Dam, an earthen dam completed in 1964 (60 years ago). The reservoir is the largest of EBMUD's five East Bay terminal reservoirs, with a total capacity of 60,510 acre⋅ft, and it has a total watershed of 8.59 square miles.
Flexibility is important when
the weather doesn't match the forecast. It was already over 80 by
the time 10 of us met at the Old Tunnel Rd parking area. The long
up hill in the open grasslands really held no appeal. So we
decided to make this an up and back along the shady Round Top
Creek trail. That was a good choice! We met at the picnic tables
by the main parking lot for snacks and group chatter and then
headed back down. We were back to the cars shortly after 11:30. My
car thermometer reached 90 on the drive home. 3.5 miles
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/1z5Cm5e6JX
07/31 - Marina Bay
I did not hike...Susan sent this report.
Ten Wednesday Walkers had a foggy, cool and breezy walk along the San Francisco Bay Trail this morning and a wonderful visit to Rosie The Riveter National Park. The docents shared information about the Home Front war effort, the shipyards, the Ford Assembly Plant for jeeps and tanks and we saw a terrific movie about the Rosies' contributions to the winning effort during WW II. Hearing their stories is quite moving. A quote from one of the welder Rosies, "I live in pants and ugly shoes, leather jacket, big mittens, goggles and a monster hood, fire coming out of my hands. I did it!". We encourage you all to make a visit to the museum.
The walk was about 4 miles, everyone in our car had a slightly different distance and number of steps on our phones, and I'm not as adept as Karen at measuring distances on the computer. Phred and Lisa will be putting photos up when they can.
We headed Bay side with hope
of cool breezes. Meeting at the Bull Valley staging area on
Carquinez Scenic Dr west of Port Costa we walked a CW loop to the
town and back. It has been almost exactly 5 years (7/31/19) since
we walked this loop, altho we tried last September but the area
was closed then. There was a fire (6-23-22) which burned over 120
acres including a large portion of the eucalyptus on the water
side of the hills. They were clearing those burned trees last September. It was a good, if short, walk of under 2.5 miles
and the weather was about perfect!
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/xefWaA8963
After a week of hot weather, the fog was back this morning and hikers were digging for extra layers. Nine of us walked an out and back route of about 4.5 miles starting from the Valle Vista staging area and heading south along the Kings Canyon Tr. The water level is still high in the reservoir and things are surprisingly green in spite of the heat wave.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/G4175Vr2v2
After no walk last week because of temperatures in the upper 90's, 8 of us took advantage of cooler weather and walked from the
Alhambra Valley Rd entrance up Toyon Canyon and back. It included
more up than we remembered. At least there was shade and an occasional
breeze. Things are drying fast, tho there was still a bit of water
in the creek. Returning to the cars we found that the bridge over
the creek has finally (I found pictures from 2019 with a "closed" sign) been repaired. Under 2.5 miles.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/jPBL5KngGB
06/05 - No hike, temperatures in the high 90's
05/29 - Redwood RP
It was a large group (15) today. We started together from the Fish Ladder but soon separated into smaller groups, botonizers, bird watchers and just plain walkers. We walked west on Bridle Tr and joined Stream Tr at Chown, going further up the canyon to the picnic tables by the Fern Tr junction for snacks and more birthday time for Ulla. Return was via Stream Tr. Just under 3 miles (but see below).
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/wmfc8B4hks
That only tells part of the story. Splitting into smaller groups is fine as long as everyone knows where we are going and people rejoin the group at trail junctions. Unfortunately, we learned that lesson the hard way today as one hiker turned left when the correct turn was to the right. Each of the other groups thought she was with another group, so it wasn't until we returned to the cars that the truth of the situation sank in. All's well that ends well, the lost one returned on her own and the ones who set out to hunt for her eventually did as well. The whole situation was made worse by a total lack of cell coverage. Mileage for the lost and the seekers was double (or more) that of the main group.
11 of us enjoyed the warm sun and mild breezes of Pt Pinole. We started from the Atlas Rd entrance and made a CW loop of 2.6 miles (3 mi or so for those who walked out the pier). There was still green grass and there were the hoped for Calochortus and Brodiaea along the Bay View Trail just before starting down to the pier.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/U5P80999Fi
5/15 - no hike. A dozen of us drove to Loomis to help Jeanne celebrate her 95th birthday with lunch at High Hand.
There were 10 of us today. The weather forecast was for quite warm, but this is a short walk (under 2 miles) and there is a good deal of at least partial shade. Crossing the first creek was rather messy, but all the other creek crossings were easy in comparison. The flower of the day was the Diablo fairy lantern (there were so many we almost began to ignore them) followed closely by Triteleia laxa. The excitement was a large rattler which had been sunning in the middle of the fire road. He left without showing any interest in the humans, thank goodness.
There were a dozen hikers with two dogs today at Fernandez Ranch. It was a mild, gray day, perfect for walking. The clouds gave the light a special quality which intensified the green of the hills and the many colors in the flowers. We went CCW up Windmill Tr to the top of the steep hill, then SE along Woodrat to Whipsnake, east to Black Phebe and then NW back to the start. 3.5 miles
Eight of us had a good walk among the
flowers of the Ring Mt Preserve. We started from the Westward Dr
trailhead, went up the Phyllis Ellman Trail, made the loop around
petroglyph rock, went up the steep trail to Turtle Rock, then up the
fire road, past the water tank, to the area where we sometimes see the
red silene (too early this time). The return went down the fire road,
along a bit of the Ellman trail and then off across the meadow and down
along the trees to the small creek crossing. We not only saw flowers,
there was wildlife, too: deer, a coyote and a very long garter snake!
Under 3 miles.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/8Bnz1h3770
There were 11 of us walking the Skyline Gardens trail today. With the trail from Fish Ranch to the Sibley parking area at the end of Old Tunnel Rd still closed, we made it an out and back from the Steam Trains parking area to the picnic table near the EBMUD water tank. That short 2 miles took us nearly 3 hours there was so much to see.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/97V5665qji
There were a baker's dozen of us on a beautiful spring day on Mt Diablo. We started from the end of Mountaire Pkwy and walked a CCW loop: the single track up the hill to the right after the entrance gate, then Back Creek Tr up the canyon to Tickwood Trail, we stopped for a snack at the junction with Donner Canyon Rd. Then the group split with Lee, Susan, Geoff, Polly and Becki taking the Heatherington Trail down and the rest of us going directly down Donner Canyon Rd. Distances ranged from just under 3 miles to almost 3 1/2 miles.
There were 11 of us today on a glorious hiking day. After what seemed like continuous storms for the last two weeks, the day was clear, the sun was warm and the wind had a bite to it. The early flowers were nearly gone, but we saw plenty of others. For the first time this year I took over 100 photos; no, I didn't post all of them! We walked more or less together until we reached the Manhattan Canyon bridge on the return. Then most headed down the east side of the canyon; Linda, Lee and Karen went up the hill after crossing the bridge and then followed the west side of the canyon. Neither was a long hike (2.5 for the shorter loop and not quite 3 for the longer).
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/96z05a53mp
There was a big group today:
16!!
We started from the parking lot by the King Fisher picnic area and
most walked as far as the art installation at Zhone Way. Returns
were staggered with some of us taking the long way around the New
Marsh area, some returning as we had started, some waling along
the road from the furthest in parking area...Lots of clouds and
there was definitely rain on the west side of the Bay, but we were
dry.
The tide was in, so birds were mostly floating out of range of my
phone camera. Distances varied from under 3 to almost 4 miles.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/c2X6A5H60N
We had missed two Wednesdays because of ill timed rain, so really wanted to get out and check the beginnings of spring. It was 9:33 when 9 of us left the parking lot. The sky was gray, but the forecast insisted it would start to rain after noon. We found the Dirca in the usual spot and several patches of osoberry. And fungi...all sorts and everywhere. As we hit the parking area on our return, just a few minutes before noon, fat rain drops started peppering the pavement. Excellent timing! A bit over 2 1/4 miles.
There were 11 of us this morning. We all felt the need to get out and move, but not for too long or on a slippy, muddy trail. The Mulholland Ridge out and back with a circle around the knoll by the EBMUD tank fit the bill. Still too many clouds for great views but satisfying, none the less, with plenty of green and a very loud frog chorus in the valley with the ponds. Under 2 miles
https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/NjzfuprJ70
A reprise of the information about the name:
Quoting from Moraga's Pride, Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados (Moraga Historical Society, 2002) p. 95
Living on the east side of the summit of today's Rheem Boulevard, [John] Mulholand rented his land in 1873. Official documents show that he came from Ireland and was naturalized in San Francisco on August 31, 1867, when he was 59 years old. He was a member of the Willow Spring School Board in 1871 and again in 1892. He and his wife Ellen, who was born in 1840, had nine children. ... His will was probated in 1900. Ellen died October 17, 1921.
However, Mulholland Ridge is not named for John, but for William Mulholland the same fellow responsible for the LA Aqueduct which drained Owens Lake. His name is associated with a formation which is evident in the geology of the ridge.
Just 6 of us on an off and on rainy morning. There were several rainbows, but not bright enough to show in photos. There were views and plenty of growing things. Not too cold. And Elaine brought cookies to celebrate Phred's upcoming birthday. An out and back of about 3.25 miles
